Kick-off for the friendly between England and Costa Rica has been delayed after torrential rain in Orlando on Wednesday.
The game will now start at a later time than scheduled, with no kick-off confirmed.
The encounter with the team ranked 53rd in the world is the Three Lions’ last fixture before their World Cup campaign starts against Croatia on June 17 (21:00 BST) as part of a group also featuring Ghana and Panama.
Los Ticos missed out on the finals for the first time in four editions, drawing four of their six matches in the third round of qualifying to finish four points behind Haiti, who reached the tournament from their group.
Costa Rica drew 0-0 with England on their way to topping their group at the 2014 World Cup, in which the Three Lions took one point to finish fourth in the section.
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England confirmed team vs Costa Rica
England name a strong side despite the delay, with Harry Kane as captain and Jude Bellingham getting the nod in the number 10 role.
Midfielder Declan Rice and forwards Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke were rested against the All Whites after taking part in Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on May 30.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel has said Saka, who was substituted during the second half of that game, is “very unlikely” to “start and finish all the matches” because he is managing an Achilles injury.
Alex Scott, Josh King, Jason Steele and Ethan Nwaneri are not eligible to play at the World Cup but could make their England debuts, as fellow training squad member Rio Ngumoha did in impressive style against New Zealand.
Right-back Ben White was recalled by England in March and started against Japan but will miss the finals with a serious knee injury.
England starting XI: Jordan Pickford, Reece James, Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Nico O’Reilly, Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane
World Cup 2026 warm-up: Costa Rica full line up vs England
Team TBC.
Head coach Fernando Batista took over in March following Miguel Herrera’s sacking last November and 19 of the 25 players called up by the Argentinian ex-Venzuela manager are under 23.
Where to watch England v Costa Rica: TV channel, live online streams
Live coverage in the UK is on ITV1 and STV.
Fans can stream the action via ITV’s website and the ITVX app, which is available on a vast variety of devices for viewing on the go.
England v Costa Rica stats
- England have faced Costa Rica on one other occasion apart from that draw in 2014, winning 2-0 in a friendly in June 2018 courtesy of a spectacular Marcus Rashford goal and one from Danny Welbeck at Elland Road
- That was England’s last friendly before the 2018 World Cup, which they started with wins over Tunisia and Panama before losing to Belgium on their way to reaching the semi-finals
- They are unbeaten across their last 16 matches against South American nations (W12 D4), conceding four goals along the way
- The only occasion on which England lost their last match before the finals in their 16 previous participations (W9 D6) was a 7-1 defeat to Hungary in 1954
- Harry Kane has 11 goals across his last 11 appearances for England and 10 in 10 against non-European nations
- The captain is set to face Costa Rica for the first time, having scored against 35 different nations for the Three Lions – at least seven more than any other player
- The 32-year-old scored his 79th goal in 113 international appearances against New Zealand, extending his record as England’s all-time leading scorer by 26 over second-placed Wayne Rooney
- Ngumoha came on at the age of 17 against New Zealand, becoming the youngest Three Lions debutant since teammate Jude Bellingham, who was 155 days younger on his bow in November 2020.
- Costa Rica are winless in their previous five matches in all competitions (D2 L3), having gone unbeaten in 10 beforehand (W5 D5)
- Josimar Alcocer, who assisted Andrey Soto’s goal in the defeat to Colombia, attempted the third-most take-ons in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League this season (155) and tried the second-most shots following a take-on in the division (9)
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
