AN improvement, but still a long way short of what would be required in a game that really mattered. England successfully avoided a repeat of last week’s Wembley humiliation at the hands of Greece as a first-half finish from Jack Grealish, a free-kick special from Trent Alexander-Arnold and a close-range strike from Declan Rice saw off Finland in Helsinki.

However, Lee Carsley’s side were far from impressive as they toiled aimlessly for lengthy spells against a Finnish side that are sandwiched between Burkina Faso and Cape Verde in the FIFA rankings, and who grabbed a late consolation through a header from Arttu Hoskonen.

There was a much better balance to England’s play than there had been against Greece, with Lee Carsley seemingly having learned from the error of his ways last Thursday. The Finns were unable to ask the kind of questions that the Greek forwards posed at Wembley, although even on a night when they were largely dominant, a creaking England still found a way to offer up big opportunities.

That said though, this was still a step forward. It’s amazing what happens when you play with a functioning system rather than just a collection of attackers tossed onto the pitch.

Carsley’s team selection featured six changes to the side that lost to Greece, and was surely an admission that the stand-in boss had got things badly wrong three days earlier.

While the decision to drop Jordan Pickford and start with Dean Henderson hogged thepre-match headlines, it was the return of Angel Gomes that did most to address the lack of balance that was abundantly clear at Wembley.

Gomes, a diminutive central-midfielder who plays his club football with Lille, had impressed in Carsley’s opening two games against Ireland and Finland, but was an unused substitute last Thursday.

His return to the starting side immediately strengthened the England midfield, with his presence freeing up Rice and helping prevent the kind of counter-attacking thrusts that enabled Greece to cause such damage.

Gomes’ neat short passing and ability to dictate the tempo of a game make him ideally suited to international football, but he also possesses a level of creativity that makes him a real threat in the final third.

Grealish might have claimed England’s 18th-minute opener, slotting home a precise low finish, but it was Gomes’ pass around the corner that unlocked the Finnish defence, with the midfielder taking three defenders out of the game as he sent his team-mate breaking clear.

It was a better all-round display from England, with Jude Bellingham also going close with a first-half shot that was deflected wide, although there was still the occasional scare at the back, with the visitors’ defensive insecurities far from banished. Finland didn’t ask any really testing questions of Henderson, although Fredrik Jensen should have done better at the end of the first half when he flashed a shot wide.

England needed the security of a second goal to be completely comfortable, and it almost arrived early in the second half when the otherwise anonymous Cole Palmer swept in a low shot that was well saved by Finnish goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky.

Finland’s limitations were apparent for much of the night, but the hosts should nevertheless have equalised just before the hour mark. Topi Keskinen slid over a low cross from the left, but Jensen stabbed a shot over from eight yards out when he should really have hit the target.

It was a major let-off for England, and Alexander-Arnold took full advantage when he doubled his side’s lead in the 74th minute. The Liverpool defender didn’t look completely comfortable playing at left-back, but his set-piece prowess is considerable and while Hradecky got a hand to his curled effort, he was unable to keep the ball out.

A third goal arrived with six minutes left. Ollie Watkins drove down the left, and Declan Rice prodded home the substitute’s low cross from close range.

Finland responded with a goal of their own three minutes later, with Hoskonen heading home at the front post from a corner.