England talking points: Harry Kane has a midfield conundrum, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer fail to answer questions

England had a mixed October international break with a 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley followed by a 3-1 win in Finland; Phil Foden and Cole Palmer failed to answer the questions about their positioning this month, while Harry Kane and Jordan Pickford came in for criticism

Sky Sports’ Pete Smith and Sam Blitz look at the key talking points, the key dilemmas and the things we learned from England’s October international break.

England were beaten 2-1 by Greece on Thursday night for their first Wembley defeat in four years, which raised questions about Lee Carsley’s position following an experimental line-up.

Then England won 3-1 in Finland thanks to goals from Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice to stay in touch with the top of Nations League Group B2.

Finland 1-3 England – Match report and reaction
How the teams lined up | Match stats
Nations League tables | Fixtures
With questions about Harry Kane and Jordan Pickford’s performances, plus the usual debates on Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, here is what we learned from England’s displays this month.

The Kane conundrum

After going without an out-and-out striker against Greece, Lee Carsley had England’s fit-again record scorer and captain Harry Kane leading the line once more in Finland.

Yet, while Kane provided a focal point for his side’s attacks and Jude Bellingham in particular played off him well in the first half, England didn’t play to their frontman’s strengths. He was subbed off on 68 minutes having not had a shot on target. In fact, Kane has been taken off in seven consecutive Three Lions games now.

Last time out for England, Kane had scored twice – and could have scored more – against the same opponents at Wembley.