The Three Lions travel to Finland this weekend to play in the UEFA Nations League. England haven’t played in the Nordic country since 2000, however there are many Britons that currently call Finland home.

🚨🔴 Bukayo Saka is NOT travelling for England's away match vs Finland. He is returning to Arsenal for treatment, reports @johncrossmirror. #AFC #COYG pic.twitter.com/v7CFfOHrdr

— The Arsenal Times (@Arsenal_Timez) October 12, 2024

There are currently 12 players from the United Kingdom playing in the Finnish top flight and 3 managers. This compares to none in Sweden or Norway, eight in Germany and France and just four in Spain.

As a national team, Finland are particularly poor, having only ever qualified for one major tournament; Euro 2020. The national sport is Ice Hockey, and their best players don’t tend to stick around in their domestic league.

Who Plays In Finland?

Instead of trying his luck to break through in the English lower leagues, Fulham youngster Imani Lanquedoc is currently on loan at FC Haka in the Finnish first division. In 16 league appearances this season, the 20-year-old winger has scored four goals. He has also managed a few goals in the Suomen Cup.

HJK Helsinki have three players from the UK currently on their books. Luke Plange will be a name known to Crystal Palace and Derby County fans as the 21-year-old striker joined the club on loan from Palace earlier this year. He is currently having his best scoring season and will partake in this year’s UEFA Conference League campaign. Also at the club is former Tottenham youth player Brooklyn Lyons-Foster, and Scottish journeyman Lee Erwin.

🇫🇮 Luke Plange, you hero! 👏🏼

Comes on as a sub in 71st with his side HJK drawing 1-1.

Scores three goals in 16 minutes to bag his first senior hat-trick and win 4-1!

What a performance from the #CPFC forward on loan in Finland. #veikkausliiga pic.twitter.com/1JXbK4Pp4m

— English Players Abroad (@EnglishAbroad1) June 7, 2024

Why Are They There?

Stevie Grieve is the manager of SJK Seinajoki and speaking to the BBC, he said that the Finnish domestic leagues are less physical than the EFL and more technical, allowing certain types of players to thrive.

Once the door opens for an English manager to coach in a certain league, it would only be natural for more to go over and play or coach there. SJK Seinajoki’s technical director is also from the UK.

Alfie Cicale, who plays for VPS Vaasa, thinks that the Finnish League is good for exhibiting your abilities if your career hasn’t gone in the linear path that you had expected. He joined the Finnish side after leaving Oxford University and having an unsuccessful trial for Northampton Town.

What Next For English Players?

For a long time, the English national team has been limited in its development because of the lack of players playing outside England, but that is starting to change with the likes of Jude Bellingham in Spain, and Angel Gomes in France.

The more English players who develop abroad the better, as they are likely to get opportunities that would be more difficult to come by if they stayed in England. France, Germany and Spain all have young players who are starting their careers in different leagues, and so that is a model that English football needs to follow.