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England beat Costa Rica 3-0 in their final friendly before the World Cup

Mauro Tognacca
Rice scored in the first half
© Richard Pelham/Getty ImagesRice scored in the first half

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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The stadium

The venue for this match is Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, United States. It has a capacity of 25,500.

Welcome!

Welcome to live coverage of the match England vs Costa Rica.

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