Trent Alexander-Arnold has been stand-out player since the European Championship, starting in all four of the Three Lions' games and - last week's loss to Greece aside -
The defender collected the Player of the Match and Finland, prompting plenty of praise, and he was at it again on Sunday night in Helsinki, clinching another Player of the Match award.
That's three in four games, and underlines just how important a player Alexander-Arnold is becoming for England.
The 3-1 win over Finland will largely be remembered for , as the Liverpool full-back curled a sublime effort past the sprawling Lukas Hradecky in the Finland goal.
Given the general quality of the opposition, it would be natural to question whether Alexander-Arnold had managed to score from such a distance due to a below-par goalkeeper being in goal, but Hradecky is Bayer Leverkusen's No.1 goalie and regarded as one of the best 'keepers in Europe.
Roy Keane praised Alexander-Arnold for the strike but couldn't resist having a pop at the Liverpool star's defensive qualities. “Great technique, you can see his standing foot, technique is fantastic. No chance for the goalkeeper. I’m usually harsh on goalkeepers but I’ll go easy on that one... You give time to Trent, because his decision making and quality of passing is fantastic, but I can’t believe how bad he is defensively and against better teams he’ll be punished.”
Keane had also criticized Alexander-Arnold prior to kick-off after it was confirmed that the defender would be lining up at left-back, saying: “If you saw him the other night defending [against Greece], it looked like he'd never played right-back before!”
Part of what makes Keane such an appealing pundit is his no-nonsense, spiky nature, but to criticize a player who has been England's best player during the last two international breaks is undoubtedly harsh.
Tougher tests lie ahead for Alexander-Arnold, and the 26-year-old himself will know that, but he can only face the opposition that is put in front of him, and he has thrived after being handed responsibility in the team by Lee Carsley.
As for the defeat by Greece, the entire defense was exposed by Carsley's experimental tactics and it is harsh to point the finger at Alexander-Arnold for his performance in that game.
