
England played their last friendly against Costa Rica just one day before the World Cup kicks off. In a better performance than a few days earlier against New Zealand, they won 3-0 with Declan Rice, Anthony Gordon, and Ollie Watkins scoring.
In the first half, England looked much sharper, with a stronger focus on scoring goals. Even though they could not break through many times, they took the lead after Gordon made a good run down the left and set up Rice, who finished with his left foot.
The same rhythm continued in the second half as England dominated possession for most of the period until they were awarded a penalty for a handball, which Gordon converted into a goal. Later, Watkins added the third after a rebound inside the box, sealing the win.
Full time in England vs Costa Rica
90+6' The referee blows the final whistle.
Rogers misses late chance for England
90+4' Rogers receives a pass inside the box but sends his shot well over the crossbar.
Mainoo and England test the keeper
90+3' Mainoo strikes from outside the box, but the shot goes straight into the goalkeeper’s hands.
Six minutes added
90' The referee signals six minutes of added time.
Saka and England go close
89' Saka bursts down the right and shoots across goal with his right foot, but the effort goes just wide.
GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAL! Watkins scores for England
87' Rogers cuts inside from the left and takes a weak shot, but the goalkeeper spills the rebound and Watkins heads it in to score.
Costa Rica make three changes
81' Ruiz replaces Samuels, Rodríguez replaces Mora, and Sinclair replaces Ugalde.
Rogers misses big chance for England
75' Eze plays a great pass to Rogers, but he misses a clear one-on-one chance against the goalkeeper.
Núñez booked for Costa Rica
74' Núñez receives a yellow card.
England and Costa Rica resume play
70' The match restarts after the cooling break.
England make more changes
69' Quansah replaces Bellingham, Watkins replaces Konsa, Mainoo replaces Anderson, Rashford replaces Gordon, and Dan Burn replaces Nico O’Reilly.
GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAL! Gordon scores from the spot for England
67' Gordon takes the penalty and fires a low shot across goal into the net.
Cooling break
67' The referee stops play for a cooling break.
England awarded a penalty
65' Bellingham drives into the box and lays it off to Eze, whose shot is blocked by a defender for a handball, and the referee points to the spot.
England make multiple changes
62' Henderson replaces Pickford, Guehi replaces Stones, Rogers replaces Kane, Saka replaces Madueke, Eze replaces Rice, and Spence replaces James.
Costa Rica forced change in goal
62' Madriz comes on to replace the injured Sequeira.
England and Costa Rica resume play
60' The match restarts after Sequeira receives treatment.
Sequeira receives treatment
57' Play is stopped while Costa Rica goalkeeper Sequeira receives medical attention.
Costa Rica make a change
55' Núñez comes on and Soto goes off.
Salazar booked for Costa Rica
54' Salazar receives a yellow card for a foul on Konsa.
England control possession in Costa Rica’s half
53' The match is being played mostly in the final third, with Costa Rica staying deep in their own half while England control possession.
Madueke and England go close again
47' Madueke cuts inside from the right and curls a shot toward goal, but it goes just wide of the right post.
Quirós enters for Costa Rica
Costa Rica make a change at halftime as Quirós replaces Johnson.
England and Costa Rica start the second half
The second half is underway.
First half comes to an end
45+4' The referee blows the whistle for halftime with England leading 1-0.
England penalty overturned after VAR review
45+3' After reviewing the play, the referee overturns the penalty decision and play resumes.
Gordon and England win a penalty
45+2' England are awarded a controversial penalty after a foul on Gordon inside the box, but VAR is checking the decision.
Four minutes added in the first half
45' The fourth official indicates four minutes of added time.
Mora and Costa Rica booked
44' Mora is shown a yellow card for a foul on Anderson.
England and Costa Rica battle through a physical half
42' The first half has been a scrappy affair, with several fouls and heated exchanges between both teams so far.
Anderson and Galo collide heads
37' Play is briefly stopped after a head-to-head collision between Anderson and Galo, but both players are able to continue.
Madueke and England miss a huge chance
35' Bellingham plays a brilliant pass to Madueke, who dribbles past the goalkeeper but somehow hits the post with the goal at his mercy.
Rice and England waste the free kick
34' Rice's free-kick effort sails well over the crossbar.
Pickford and England escape a scare
30' Pickford tries to do too much and misplaces a pass that is intercepted by Costa Rica, but the move ends with a corner kick.
Gordon and England win a dangerous free kick
32' Gordon is fouled right on the edge of the penalty area, giving England a dangerous free-kick opportunity.
England and Costa Rica resume play
28' The match resumes after the cooling break.
Cooling break for England and Costa Rica
25' The referee stops play for a cooling break.
Madueke and England earn a corner
24' A clearance falls to Madueke outside the box, but his first-time shot is scuffed and Sequeira pushes it away for a corner.
Kane and England denied by Sequeira
22' Rice delivers a cross that Kane flicks on, but Sequeira makes an excellent save to keep Costa Rica in the match.
Johnson and Costa Rica see the first yellow card
21' Johnson brings down Gordon from behind and is shown a yellow card.
Arsenal players and England return to action
19' This is the first match for the Arsenal players since their time off following the Champions League final.
Kane and England threaten from a corner
14' The corner is sent to the far post, where Kane heads it back into the box, but the Costa Rica defense clears the danger well.
Gordon and England win a corner
13' Another dangerous run down the left by Gordon ends with his cross taking a deflection, and the goalkeeper pushes the ball out for a corner.
GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAL! Rice scores for England
9' Gordon makes a great run down the left and cuts the ball back for Rice, who fires a first-time left-footed shot into the far corner for the opening goal.
Bellingham and England go close
5' Bellingham cuts inside from the left and fires from the edge of the box, but his shot deflects off a defender and goes just wide.
England and Costa Rica trade fouls
4' The match has had a stop-start beginning, with both teams committing several fouls.
England and Costa Rica get the match underway
The match is underway between England and Costa Rica.
Confirmed lineup for Costa Rica
Sequeira; Johnson, Mitchell, Faerron, Araya; Salazar; Mora, Galo, Soto, Alcocer; Ugalde.
Confirmed lineup for England
Jordan Pickford, Reece James, Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Nico O'Reilly; Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson; Noni Madueke, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane.
Tuchel on Bukayo Saka
“We still have to take care a little bit of Bukayo, who had an injury during the March camp and carried it into his club season. He was available and made himself available at the end of the season, and he did that brilliantly, but he was managed between matches. That continues a little bit at the moment, so we're building him up.”
Thomas Tuchel's polemic
The England manager said: "How many favorites are there? No, we're not the top favorites. We can't be because we haven't won it for so many years."
Match time confirmed
The match has been delayed due to bad weather and will now kick off at 5 PM ET.
The antecedents
England and Costa Rica have met twice before. The first encounter came on June 24, 2014, in the final match of the World Cup group stage, with England already eliminated and Costa Rica securing first place in the group after a 0-0 draw. The second meeting was on June 7, 2018, when England earned a 2-0 victory in a friendly match.
Their groups
England were placed in Group L with Croatia (June 17), Ghana (June 23) and Panama (June 27), while Costa Rica did not qualify.
Match delayed
The match has been delayed from its scheduled 4 PM ET kickoff due to bad weather. There is still no confirmed start time.
The stadium
The venue for this match is Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, United States. It has a capacity of 25,500.
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