England ramped up their 2026 World Cup preparations on Wednesday with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica in Orlando, Florida.
A big improvement was demanded from both Thomas Tuchel and England supporters following last week’s lacklustre 1-0 win over New Zealand. It took just 10 minutes for the Three Lions to deliver, with Declan Rice converting a cutback from Anthony Gordon.
England continued to dominate and could have been further ahead by half-time. However, it took until the 68th minute for them to finally double their lead — Gordon getting a goal of his own from the spot after Eberechi Eze’s shot was blocked by the arm of Darril Araya.
Tuchel’s men put some gloss on the result in the 87th minute as Ollie Watkins headed home from close range following a spill from goalkeeper Abraham Madriz.
There was plenty to like about England’s performance at Inter&Co Stadium, as well as further room for improvement. So what did we learn from the match?
Anthony Gordon makes huge statement in left wing battle
The debate over who should man the left wing for England at this World Cup is among the fiercest right now, with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon going head to head.
It was the latter who got the lion’s share of the minutes on Wednesday, and to say he sent a message would be a huge understatement.
Gordon immediately got to work on Costa Rica’s starting right-back, Shawn Johnson, driving at the 23-year-old one-on-one and turning him inside-out with his pace.
That paid dividends in the 10th minute, when Gordon blazed to the byline and got inside the box, before finding Rice with an expert cutback — the Arsenal man making no mistake in putting England ahead.
That was just one of four attempted dribbles (two completed), and 17 carries on the day from the newly-signed Barcelona winger, who was clearly out to show Tuchel how much havoc he can cause on the left.
Gordon then grabbed a goal of his own in the second half, emphatically blasting the ball into the top corner from the penalty spot to move onto three international goals. The former Newcastle man also doubled his direct goal contribution tally for England (4, 3g/1a).
Rashford replaced Gordon shortly after the penalty, but he must now be thinking about life on the bench when England open their World Cup campaign against Croatia next week.
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England’s Harry Kane conundrum solved?
The win over New Zealand last week once again raised the question of if Harry Kane doesn’t score for England, who will? This latest victory will hopefully go a long way toward answering that.
As mentioned, Gordon was electric against Costa Rica and helped himself to a goal and an assist. However, there was far more to this England performance. A late run into the box from Declan Rice, Noni Madueke hitting the post (when he absolutely should have scored), and an instinctive poacher’s header from Watkins were just a few flashpoints in a game where England utterly dominated possession (81%-19%) and attempted a whopping 28 shots.
Kane was, for his part, in fine form again, but though he attempted three shots of his own, it was the playmaker version we saw here. The Bayern Munich man created two chances, completed 89% of his passes, and played two passes into the final third.
But whether the ball went in the net or not, there was plenty of evidence here to suggest that England do, indeed, have a Plan B if Kane can’t breach the opposition or is unavailable.
What next for England after Costa Rica win?
Tuchel will be delighted by the increase in tempo and fluency from England here, but there is still more preparation to come before his side take on Croatia next week.
The Three Lions will face US fourth-tier side Miami United in a behind-closed-doors friendly next, in a match intended to give extended minutes to players who either sat out this win over Costa Rica or only got limited minutes.
After that, the players will undergo further training, as well as enjoying a couple of days off with friends and family before the action begins.
Players with 20 minutes or less vs Costa Rica: Dan Burn, Jarell Quansah, Ollie Watkins, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford, James Trafford, Tino Livramento, Jordan Henderson, Ivan Toney.
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