This was an interim performance from England. They were somewhere between good and bad. They are caught in a land of confusion in-between. Even their away kit is a mix. Blue and red making purple. But they eventually got it done. They won 3-1 away from home and, rationally, that must be satisfactory against most opponents.

But. And there is a big but. They gave Finland a chance by giving up chances; they were sloppy and unconvincing in defence and four games into Lee Carsley’s temporary reign as England manager it is unclear as to how he actually wants his team to play even if he clearly has admirable, positive intentions.

Not that it is expected to be his team for much longer. There are two more games to go in this Nations League campaign and England will have to win away in Greece next month, following the debacle in losing to them at Wembley last Thursday, if they are to be promoted back into the top tier.

Carsley again refused to provide clarity as to whether he wants to be Gareth Southgate’s successor but, unless a permanent manager is appointed, he may have to carry on to the March internationals – which, depending on the draw, could even be World Cup qualifiers.

Nearly 100 days after Southgate stepped down it is all, unfortunately, beginning to be unsatisfactory. It is certainly unclear. As Carsley dances on the head of a needle with his public statements it is certainly confusing. A bit like England against Finland. Yes, they scored three goals, and could have had more, and two of those goals were either superb in their construction or their execution.

Carsley has talked about an experimental phase, about being bold, about risk and reward and we all get it. But this had the whiff of complacency to it with England sloppy at the back and lacking a cutting edge in attack before he made substitutions.

Maybe that complacency comes from facing lesser-ranked nations but that in itself is complacent and should not happen.

England had 15 shots and 31 touches inside the opposition penalty area which showed they tried to be attacking and creative. But then they also allowed Finland, 64th in the world rankings and now six games without a win, 13 attempts at their goal and 23 touches. And the Finns missed a sitter at 1-0.

Of course the scoreline was fairly emphatic. On their last visit here, in 2000, in a World Cup qualifier, England drew 0-0. So there is a little context even if it was some time ago.

But these are curious times for England with that lack of certainty in the dug-out now being followed by a lack of conviction on the pitch. The danger is because of this confusion they may drift. They do look on hold. No wonder it all felt a little flat.

To a degree that was summed up by Trent Alexander-Arnold who played as an inverted left-back and was caught out at times – not least by a switch of play in the first-half from which Finland failed to find the target when they should have done – before moving back to his more natural right where he was undoubtedly better. And he capped it with a sumptuous 25-yard free-kick to emphasise just what he can do.

More worryingly Harry Kane, recalled after injury, struggled to make an impact and it was obvious that England improved after Ollie Watkins – who did not start against Greece, remember – came on. He set up the third goal with a surging run and low cross that was tucked home by Declan Rice. Watkins also claimed the assist against Greece.

It was needed as Finland did finally score, with a near post header by Arttu Hoskonen from a corner which again highlighted the lack of concentration in defence. In fact without Rice’s goal it could have been a nervy finish.

Then there was Jude Bellingham who yet again appeared to be used as a striker. This time, rather than a false nine along with Phil Foden against Greece, he played more recognisably up front with Kane especially in the second half. But it just does not feel like the right use of him.

Most bewildering of all was Cole Palmer who was deployed in a familiar role on the right and, one shot apart, just could not get into the game. Even the first touch of England’s Premier League player of the season so far was off.

Even with some of the pluses there was a qualification. Such as with Angel Gomes who started, one of six changes from Greece, and gave the ball away to surrender the first opportunity to Finland. John Stones came to his rescue to block Fredrik Jansen’s shot but the follow-up from Topi Keskinen should have found the net. It would be Jensen who later missed the second-half sitter as he shot over from just seven yards out when unmarked.

But then Gomes played the lovely round-the-corner pass to allow Jack Grealish to run clear and calmly finish. It ended a 17-pass sequence and was also Grealish’s second goal in three games under Carsley having scored two in 32 under Southgate. He is one who is flourishing. That bit is clear.

Of course England claimed the lion’s share of possession and dominated but they were not in control. They always gave Finland hope. Even at 3-1 when it should have been game over.

So it felt not quite right. But then England won. If a Premier League team had gone to a League One side in the cup and gained the same result in pretty much the same manner it would be classified as ‘job done’. And England did get the job done. Even if we still do not know who will get the England job.

07:30 PM BST

Ian Wright on Lee Carsley

07:30 PM BST

Who might be the next permanent England manager?

07:29 PM BST

Declan Rice talking to ITV

07:27 PM BST

The thoughts of Lee Carsley

07:17 PM BST

Player ratings

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Beautiful free-kick for his goal. New option for England in problem left-back position, where he had not played for Liverpool this season. 7/10

Angel Gomes

Lovely assist when he slipped ball behind Finland’s defence for opener. Guilty of losing possession early which led to Keskinen chance – but mistakes accepted with his style. 7/10

Here is a snippet from Mike McGrath’s player ratings.

07:16 PM BST

England’s third goalscorer of the night

07:09 PM BST

Jack Grealish speaking to ITV

07:00 PM BST

League B Group 2 table

1. Greece: played three, won three, 9pts

2. England: played four, won three, 9pts

3. Republic of Ireland: played three, won one, 3pts

4. Finland: played four, lost four, 0pts

06:58 PM BST

Match stats

Possession: Finland 31%-69% England

Shots: 13-15

Shots on target: 3-6

Touches in opposition box: 23-31

Corners: 4-5

06:56 PM BST

FT verdict

06:53 PM BST

Full-time

There is the final whistle and England win 3-1 in Helsinki thanks to goals from Grealish, Alexander-Arnold and Rice. No clean sheet but they bounce back from defeat against Greece on Thursday with a win tonight.

06:52 PM BST

90+2 mins: Finland 1 England 3

06:49 PM BST

90 mins: Finland 1 England 3

There will be four added minutes at the end of this match.

06:48 PM BST

88 mins: Finland 1 England 3

Madueke has a shot inside the Finland box but it hits the side netting.

06:47 PM BST

GOAL! Finland get a goal back

It will not change tonight’s result but England’s clean sheet is gone. The corner is sent into the near post by Walta and somehow Hoskonen is in acres of space to head past Henderson. He should never had that much space in the box.

06:44 PM BST

85 mins: Finland 0 England 3

England change:

OFF Rice

ON Gallagher

That goal was Rice’s final act tonight.

06:43 PM BST

GOAL! Rice makes it 3-0

A third for England on the night. England break and Watkins has it on the left. He drives past Hoskonen inside the box and cuts it across to Rice, who passes it into the far corner first-time.

06:42 PM BST

82 mins: Finland 0 England 2

At the end of an England break, Foden tries to find Watkins at the far post but Uronen intercepts and puts it behind for a corner. England play it short and then send it to the far post, where Stones cannot keep it under control and it goes behind for a goal-kick.

Finland change:

OFF Alho

ON Antman

06:39 PM BST

80 mins: Finland 0 England 2

Double England change:

OFF Bellingham, Gomes

ON Foden, Lewis

06:38 PM BST

79 mins: Finland 0 England 2

Alexander-Arnold floats a cross to the back post and finds Walker, whose header (which was not really a shot rather an attempt to head it across goal) is saved easily by Hradecky. Just before Alexander-Arnold sent in the cross, Madueke wanted a penalty but nothing given.

06:34 PM BST

75 mins: Finland 0 England 2

Double change from Finland:

OFF Keskinen, Jensen

ON Pukki, Lod

06:33 PM BST

GOAL! A screamer from Alexander-Arnold

WOW! What a goal! He has done that on so many occasions and curls it into the top corner, despite the best efforts of Hradecky. Simply sensational from Alexander-Arnold.

06:32 PM BST

73 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Walta fouls Bellingham and England have a free-kick in a dangerous position not far outside the Finland box. Alexander-Arnold is standing over it...

06:31 PM BST

72 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Madueke, who looked bright off the bench on Thursday, gets past his man and it looks like he will find Watkins at the far post for a tap-in but somehow Finland escape.

06:29 PM BST

70 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Grealish’s cross is blocked behind by Alho and England have a corner on the left, which Alexander-Arnold will take. The Liverpool man sends it in but Hoskonen does really well to win the header and Finland can clear their lines.

06:27 PM BST

68 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Double England change:

OFF Palmer, Kane

ON Madueke, Watkins

Palmer did not really get into the game much on the right and his Chelsea teammate Madueke is on in his place, more suited to playing wide right. Kane missed the Greece game so perhaps not a massive surprise that he could not play the full 90 minutes.

06:27 PM BST

67 mins: Finland 0 England 1

From the edge of the box, Alexander-Arnold attempts a clever first-time dink to find Bellingham but Hradecky is quick off his line to get to the ball first.

06:24 PM BST

64 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Time for an England change or two? It looks like Lee Carsley and his coaching staff are thinking about a few in the coming minutes.

06:22 PM BST

63 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Bellingham lays it back to Gomes, who shoots from range but his effort misses the target. That did not trouble Hradecky’s goal.

Double Finland change:

OFF Schuller, Kallman

ON Walta, Pohjanpalo

06:18 PM BST

59 mins: Finland 0 England 1

England win it high up the pitch and Rice shoots from distance but it is a pretty comfortable save for Hradecky down to his left.

06:17 PM BST

57 mins: Finland 0 England 1

As he did a few minutes ago, Alexander-Arnold plays a terrific ball into the left channel for Bellingham to run onto. He drives into the box and tries to find Kane, but Hradecky stretches out his leg to deny England.

06:16 PM BST

56 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Huge chance for Finland. Keskinen does really well down the left and plays the ball across. It finds Jensen, who should bury the chance but blazes it over the bar.

06:12 PM BST

53 mins: Finland 0 England 1

06:10 PM BST

51 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Palmer shoots from near the edge of the box and it forces Hradecky into a good save down to his right. It came through a number of bodies, which would have meant Hradecky did not have great sight of it so that makes it a good save.

06:09 PM BST

50 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Alexander-Arnold finds Bellingham with a great ball into the left channel. He gets into the box but he takes too long to get a shot away and Hoskonen takes it off him. England then win it back and Alexander-Arnold shoots from distance but it is straight at Hradecky.

06:07 PM BST

47 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Bellingham wants a free-kick but the referee is having none of it and Finland drive forward. Keskinen finds Kallman inside the box but he cannot take advantage.

06:04 PM BST

Second half

We are back under way in Helsinki.

06:01 PM BST

Your views

What have you made of that first half? Remember you can have your say in the comments section at the bottom of the blog.

05:57 PM BST

Matt Upson on BBC Radio 5 Live

05:55 PM BST

Views at HT

05:48 PM BST

Half-time

There is the whistle and England lead at the break thanks to Jack Grealish’s goal.

05:47 PM BST

45 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Kallman has a shot on the turn saved by Henderson from inside the box but the offside flag was up.

Two added minutes at the end of this first half.

05:46 PM BST

44 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Walker commits another foul, this time on Kamara, and is perhaps slightly fortunate not to have been booked yet.

05:45 PM BST

41 mins: Finland 0 England 1

England go all the way from their own box to the Finland penalty area. Alexander-Arnold strides forward through the midfield and finds Grealish on the left. The Manchester City man sends it into Bellingham, whose first touch gets slightly away from him and his shot on the stretch a touch is then blocked.

05:42 PM BST

40 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Kallman is found with a ball into the box but his looping header ends up on the top of the net.

05:40 PM BST

38 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Chance for Finland. Alho is found on the right-hand side of the England box after a diagonal ball. He heads it into the path of Jensen, who takes on a shot but cannot keep it down and hits it over the bar. An opportunity there for the home side.

05:37 PM BST

35 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Nearly for England. Bellingham find Rice, who made a great run in behind the Finland defence. He brings it down and just as he is about to shoot it is taken off him and behind for a corner, which Guehi heads off target and out for a Finland goal-kick.

05:35 PM BST

33 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Walker gives the ball away and Finland counter. Keskinen is found in the left-hand channel and he drives towards the England box. He lets fly from just inside the box but the shot is straight at Henderson.

05:31 PM BST

29 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Gomes is now back on and seems fine for the time being. The home side will have a corner as Keskinen’s shot is deflected behind by Walker. The ball is sent in but Alexander-Arnold is on hand at the front post to block the delivery.

05:28 PM BST

27 mins: Finland 0 England 1

With the ball out of play, Gomes has gone down and the England medical staff are quickly on.

05:27 PM BST

25 mins: Finland 0 England 1

Keskinen sends in a dangerous cross after beating Walker down Finland’s left but England manage to clear their lines. That cross should have been met by one of Keskinen’s teammates but none were anywhere near it.

05:20 PM BST

GOAL! Grealish gives England the lead

What was I saying? England are ahead and it is a good goal. Gomes, who is found by an incisive pass forward from Alexander-Arnold, feeds a delicate ball around the corner through to Grealish inside the box, who times his run well to stay onside. He is left one-on-one with Hradecky and he slots home into the far corner. That is Grealish’s fourth England goal and his second under Carsley, having scored against the Republic of Ireland in September.

05:18 PM BST

16 mins: Finland 0 England 0

After what was a disastrous night on Thursday against Greece, everyone was looking for a reaction from England tonight but so far in this opening 15 minutes Lee Carsley’s side have not exactly set the world on fire with their performance.

05:16 PM BST

14 mins: Finland 0 England 0

Alexander-Arnold looks for Kane inside the box but his cross from the left is intercepted.

05:12 PM BST

11 mins: Finland 0 England 0

Grealish finds Bellingham on the edge of the box. The Real Madrid midfielder cuts onto his left and then chops onto his right. His effort is blocked and goes behind for a corner. Finland head the delivery behind so it will be successive corners for England. Palmer swings it in and Finland clear but England keep it alive. It is cleared to just outside the box, where Alexander-Arnold takes on a shot that is blocked.

05:09 PM BST

7 mins: Finland 0 England 0

Big let-off for England there. Gomes gives the ball away cheaply inside his own half, which gives Finland the chance to push towards the England box. Kallman’s shot is blocked by Stones and then Keskinen, who plays his club football at Aberdeen, cannot take advantage as he drags his effort wide.

05:07 PM BST

5 mins: Finland 0 England 0

Bellingham is penalised for handball in the centre of midfield and Finland are going to use this opportunity to send it into the England box for the first time. It is actually played down the line and then crossed in but England clear their lines.

05:04 PM BST

3 mins: Finland 0 England 0

Bellingham tries to find the run of Rice into the box with a cross from the left but he cannot find the Arsenal midfielder and it runs through to Hradecky.

05:03 PM BST

2 mins: Finland 0 England 0

05:01 PM BST

Kick-off

We are under way in Helsinki.

04:56 PM BST

Kick-off fast approaching

Both sides have emerged from the tunnel in Helsinki and it is time for the national anthems.

04:52 PM BST

Reminder of the team news

England: Henderson, Walker, Stones, Guehi, Alexander-Arnold, Angel Gomes, Rice, Bellingham, Palmer, Grealish, Kane.

Substitutes: Pope, Pickford, Lewis, Livramento, Colwill, Foden, Gallagher, Watkins, Gordon, Solanke, Madueke.

Finland: Hradecky, Alho, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen, Kamara, Schuller, Peltola, Jensen, Kallman, Keskinen.

Substitutes: Joronen, Sinisalo, Galvez, Antman, Lod, Pukki, Stahl, Pikkarainen, Tenho, Nissila, Pohjanpalo, Walta.

04:49 PM BST

The Finland perspective

Our very own Chris Bascombe has this week sat down for an interview with former Liverpool and Finland playmaker Jari Litmanen.

04:47 PM BST

Out to warm up

04:41 PM BST

Elsewhere in the Nations League

In the other match in League B Group 2 Greece host Republic of Ireland later this evening. Greece are three points clear of England at the top of the group.

04:38 PM BST

Change of keepers

04:36 PM BST

The thoughts of Lee Carsley

04:33 PM BST

Kane back

England started without an out-and-out striker on Thursday but captain Harry Kane is back fit and starts.

04:32 PM BST

Your views

What do you make of the starting line-up Lee Carsley has named? Has Jordan Pickford been dropped or is Carsley just wanting to take a look at Dean Henderson? Trent Alexander-Arnold starts at left-back, having never started there for club or country; what do you make of that? Are you happy to see England revert back to having a recognised centre-forward rather than the experiment from the other night? What are your views on the front line? Remember you can have your say in the comments section at the bottom of the blog.

04:26 PM BST

Palmer speaking to ITV

04:22 PM BST

Inside the away dressing room

04:17 PM BST

No-one interviewed yet?

Gareth Southgate stepped down a couple of months ago but the Football Association have still not formally interviewed any potential candidates. Matt Law and Jason Burt have the full story on the lack of progress in hiring a permanent England manager.

04:09 PM BST

Full team news

Lee Carsley makes six changes from the 2-1 defeat to Greece. Dean Henderson, Kyle Walker, Angel Gomes, Marc Guehi, Jack Grealish and Harry Kane all come into the starting XI. Henderson has replaced Jordan Pickford in goal. Kane and Grealish are back after missing the Greece game whilst Guehi and Walker come into the defence, replacing Levi Colwill and Rico Lewis. Trent Alexander-Arnold moves across from right-back to left-back. Bukayo Saka is injured and has returned to Arsenal for further assessment.

England: Henderson, Walker, Stones, Guehi, Alexander-Arnold, Angel Gomes, Rice, Bellingham, Palmer, Grealish, Kane.

Substitutes: Pope, Pickford, Lewis, Livramento, Colwill, Foden, Gallagher, Watkins, Gordon, Solanke, Madueke.

Former Norwich striker Teemu Pukki is on the bench whilst former Leeds midfielder Glen Kamara starts. Bayer Leverkusen captain Lukas Hradecky starts in goal.

Finland: Hradecky, Alho, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen, Kamara, Schuller, Peltola, Jensen, Kallman, Keskinen.

Substitutes: Joronen, Sinisalo, Galvez, Antman, Lod, Pukki, Stahl, Pikkarainen, Tenho, Nissila, Pohjanpalo, Walta.

04:03 PM BST

Who will get the permanent role?

With Lee Carsley seemingly ruling himself out of the job, the question is who will be Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor? Jason Burt has taken a look at what England might do, with the heat on John McDermott and Mark Bullingham to find a convincing candidate.

03:58 PM BST

Change in goal

Lee Carsley has decided to change his goalkeepers Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson replaces Jordan Pickford. Has he been dropped after a truly dismal performance against Greece? Will England spin it as rotation despite the fact that this is not a friendly (although some believe the Nations League is a glorified friendly)?

03:54 PM BST

Visitors arriving

03:48 PM BST

England team news

03:27 PM BST

Lee Carsley to revert to more familiar tactics?

England look to bounce back in the Nations League this evening as they travel to Helsinki to take on Finland.

England suffered a terrible 2-1 defeat at the hands of Greece at Wembley on Thursday. Greece rank 44 places below England in the Fifa world rankings but they were deserving winners, their first win at Wembley in 10 attempts and the first time they had ever scored there.

Thursday’s defeat did Lee Carsley’s chances of becoming the permanent England manager no favours and, according to a Telegraph Sport exclusive, Carsley has decided he does not want the job.

Carsley suggested after the defeat to Greece that he would be happy to return to his job with the Under-21’s.

“I was quite surprised after the last camp [that there was talk] in terms of ‘the job is mine’ and ‘it’s mine to lose’ and all the rest of it,” he said. “My remit has been clear from the start - I’m doing three camps. There are three games left and then hopefully I’ll be going back to the Under-21s. It has almost no impact.

“I never at any point thought that I have got it cracked. It was a case of let’s try something different and I’m happy to take blame for that. It was totally my idea.

“I thought about it long and hard, in terms how it might look, how it might build and how it might feel. It is something that didn’t come off but I don’t think we should rule out having that opportunity to try something different.”

Captain Harry Kane missed the Greece defeat after picking up a knock for Bayern Munich just before the international break but he could return tonight. Jack Grealish also missed the game against Greece but both trained on Friday and are in contention. Bukayo Saka limped off early in the second half and has returned to Arsenal for further assessment. Curtis Jones has also withdrawn from the squad due to a personal commitment.

The defeat on Thursday night leaves England second in League B Group 2, now three points behind leaders Greece. Finland have lost all three games so far, including a 2-1 defeat against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday night. England won 2-0 at Wembley against tonight’s opponents back in September thanks to a double from Harry Kane. In total these two sides have met eight times, with England winning six and two draws.

Team news to follow shortly.