England 2 – 0 Finland

Harry Kane marked his 100th international cap by scoring twice in England's 2-0 win over Finland in the Nations League, while Sven-Göran Eriksson was also paid tribute at Wembley Stadium.

England's captain and all-time leading goalscorer roared with joy as he celebrated a thunderous opener from the underside of the net with just over an hour to go, before slotting home a stunning second goal for his country with 15 minutes remaining to seal his country's 68th goal.

It was a fitting way for Kane to mark the occasion and highlight the importance he has had to England and the impact he can continue to have, despite criticism over his performances at Euro 2024, at the age of 31. “It was a perfect night,” Kane said afterwards.

Finland goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky had frustrated Kane with a series of excellent saves before the breakthrough. But the England regular (who had a header ruled out for narrow offside in the first half) was not to be denied on a night when he was awarded a special Golden Cap to mark his breakthrough performance. He is only the 10th player to reach that total for England men.

It was also a big goal for Lee Carsley, who made it two wins in his interim spell in charge and England finished second in Nations League Group B2 behind Greece on goal difference. It was another positive performance, with Angel Gomes neat on his first start, but Finland were resolute in defence and looked threatening after the first-half break, making things difficult for England.

The last time the two teams met, under Eriksson, who passed away last month, England won in a 2001 World Cup qualifier with another fierce goal from Three Lions captain David Beckham.

This match was not expected to be as close as the 2-1 win, but Finland, who lost 3-0 to Greece in their Group B2 opener, frustrated Kasli's side. Centre-back Artu Hoskonen slid twice to deny Kane's tap-in header in the first half, Hradecky saved a deflected Bukayo Saka shot and Trent Alexander-Arnold had two shots wide just before half-time.

At times, England were worryingly open. Aberdeen's Tofi Keskinen was quick on the counter-attack but wasted the last third, his two shots wide of the post as he darted up the pitch, leaving England's defence exposed in the absence of a midfield. And that was after Rico Luiz had to block former Norwich City ace Teemu Pukki's shot in the box after the visitors' incisive throw-in routine.

But England were more consistent in the second half and the opener eased any fears of an upset after Hradecky saved Kane's free-kick and overhead. Substitute Noni Madueke provided the captain's second assist, Eberechi Eze was lively, Rico Lewis looked comfortable throughout and Alexander-Arnold impressed again at right-back.

But Kane's two goals and a plaudit for Eriksson will be another reminder of Carsley's success as caretaker boss, who has been auditioning for the permanent job so far.

Kane: It was a perfect night.

uk captain Harry Kane:

“It was a perfect night. On my 100th cap I wanted to make it as memorable as possible. To score two goals and help the team to victory was almost perfect. The first goal of the night is right up there (one of my best goals for England). It was great to see it come off the bar. Two goals on my 100th cap night will definitely go down as one of my favourite goals of all time.

On whether he will stay to try for a hat-trick: “There were enough shots to score a hat-trick! Lee wasn't upset because he talked about the many games ahead.”

On rejecting critics and using them as motivation: “At a young age I doubted if I could continue to do what I did and achieve it and that helped me stay focused. As a player you're always going to get criticism and when things don't go your way, I have that hunger to keep pushing and keep pushing. I want to keep pushing the boundaries and I showed that tonight. Come October I'll be ready to go again.”

Analysis: A memorable night for Kane

Rob Dorsett, chief reporter for Sky Sports News:

“We can analyse Lee Carsley's performance later on (the pretty passes, the delicious skill displays, the fluid formations, the sometimes overly sophisticated final ball). Tonight was about one man, England's captain and all-time leading goalscorer. He is now just a little bit ahead of everyone else.

“In fact, Kane might have scored four or five goals if it weren't for his nemesis Hradecky in the Finnish goal and the party-ruining manager who took him off with 10 minutes remaining.

“68 goals in 100 games is incredible. And for that big occasion, the guy has done it again.

“When I said I wanted to score 100 goals in an England shirt on Monday, it sounded optimistic. Is that the case now? Captain, centurion Kane, take a bow. Today is your night.”

Carsley: We're headed in the right direction.

uk interim director Lee Carsley:

“It was important that we got the result, but more importantly, we got the performance. You want to be excited to see the team play on the pitch. To have scored four goals in two games is good, we could have scored more, but I think we are moving in the right direction.”

Will the discomfort go away? “To be honest, I still feel that with the U21s! I just want the players to do well and feel the pressure to create opportunities for them in the effective areas. Hopefully we've done that in the last two games.

“There's always competition. There's competition all over the pitch and I was thinking about tonight's game but then I was thinking about the next squad, what's going to happen, which players are going to be in form. There's a lot of competition in this squad so I think there's going to be some movement. We've got two camps before the World Cup qualifiers so it's important to be in a strong position.”

What's next?

England host Greece at home on October 10 next month before travelling to Finland for a Nations League clash three days later.