Sven-Goran Eriksson began his coaching career in the late 1970s. He gained international fame by coaching Italian clubs – AS Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Lazio. His work was appreciated by the English, who entrusted him with the national team in early 2001. He was the first foreign coach in the history of this team.
England bid farewell to Eriksson. Emotional scenes before the match
The Swede was England's coach until the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The English team qualified for every major tournament tournament during his term, but they were eliminated in the quarter-finals each time. In the 2002 World Cup they were worse than Brazil (1:2), and in Euro 2004 they lost on penalties to Portugal. This team was also better than England at the World Cup in Germany. Then Eriksson's team lost 1:3.
One of the most important decisions of the Swedish coach was to appoint David Beckham as captain of the England team – The former footballer said goodbye to his coach with a moving post.
On Tuesday, Eriksson was also bid farewell by the current England internationals and the fans gathered at Wembley. The coach was honored with a standing ovation. The match against Finland was also an opportunity to say goodbye to the recently deceased Craig Shakespeare, Kevin Campbell and Tommy Banks.
“I think he's one of our best-known, most popular coaches. It's going to be a sad night for a lot of English fans and the players,” Harry Kane said about Eriksson.
England beat Finland in Nations League. Will they return to Division A?
The English did not play well against Finland match. Although they had a huge optical advantage, they had only one shot on target until half-time. The Finns maintained a sensational draw until the 57th minute, when Harry Kane had a powerful shot on goal and beat the goalkeeper.
In the 76th minute, Kane extended his lead even further. It was his 100th game Harry Kane in the colours of the England national team – he scored the 67th and 68th goals. We did not see any more goals and the match ended in a 2-0 victory for the hosts. After two rounds, the English are the runners-up of their Nations League group and there is much to suggest that they will manage to return to Division A.