Declan Rice celebrates with Anthony Gordon after putting England ahead in the pre-World Cup friendly against Costa Rica in Orlando. Both are in white kit with red and dark blue trimGetty Images

Declan Rice and Anthony Gordon both scored in England's final pre-World Cup friendly

At a glance

  • Storms in Orlando means kick-off is delayed by an hour

  • Declan Rice puts England ahead after nine minutes following good work by Anthony Gordon

  • Gordon adds the second from the penalty spot after Eberechi Eze's shot is handled

  • Substitute Ollie Watkins adds a third after 87 minutes.

  • PLAYER RATINGS

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

England stepped up a gear in their final friendly before the World Cup with an impressive performance to beat Costa Rica in Orlando.

After kick-off was delayed for an hour by storms, Declan Rice gave England an early lead with a deflected shot as he took advantage of good work by new Barcelona signing Anthony Gordon.

Jude Bellingham started ahead of Morgan Rogers in the number 10 role and looked sharp as he pressed his claim to start in the team's World Cup opener against Croatia in Dallas on 17 June.

Bellingham put Noni Madueke through in the first half, only for the Arsenal forward to hit the post after rounding Costa Rica keeper Patrick Sequeira when he looked sure to find an empty net.

Real Madrid man Bellingham's brilliant run then helped England find a second goal after 68 minutes, when he set up substitute Eberechi Eze for a shot that was handled – Gordon scoring the resulting penalty.

Ollie Watkins came off the bench and pounced with a close-range header three minutes from the end to give England a victory margin that reflected their dominance.

England will now have a behind-closed-doors game against Miami FC to give some players extra minutes and work on strategy before the serious business starts against Croatia.

England analysis: Perfect workout for Tuchel's side

Heavy rain briefly floods the Inter&Co Stadium pitch in Orlando before England's match against Costa Rica, while a large screen carries the message LIGHTNING STRIKES PLEASE SEEK SHELTERGetty Images

A pre-match storm briefly led to a flooded pitch, but England's day soon brightened up

England's first friendly after arriving in the United States had been little more than a glorified training session when New Zealand were beaten 1-0 in Tampa on Saturday.

Costa Rica, in contrast, provided the perfect opposition as England stepped up to another level.

This was exactly the sort of workout head coach Thomas Tuchel wanted as he finalises plans for the World Cup opener against Croatia.

England faced durable opposition who were determined to give the game a competitive edge with uncompromising tackling and stubborn defence.

And Tuchel will also have been delighted with how players who are effectively fighting for their places showed determination to make an impression.

Gordon was lively from the first whistle, making Rice's goal and giving Costa Rica defender Shawn Johnson a torrid time. He also took responsibility for the second-half penalty that sealed victory with regular taker Harry Kane having been substituted.

Bellingham showed the sort of world-class touches that will make it difficult for Tuchel to leave him out, while defender John Stones got another 63 minutes under his belt to put himself in contention to start against Croatia.

Tuchel can carry out final tweaks in that private game against Miami FC before he makes selection decisions that really matter as England's World Cup gets under way.

Player of the match

A. Gordon
7.67
18 A. Gordon
7.67
4 D. Rice
7.32
8 E. Anderson
7.26
19 O. Watkins
7.08
9 H. Kane
6.69
10 J. Bellingham
6.60
21 E. Eze
6.43
7 B. Saka
6.40
2 E. Konsa
6.28
11 M. Rashford
6.26
3 N. O'Reilly
6.21
16 K. Mainoo
6.21
6 M. Guéhi
6.20
17 M. Rogers
6.19
20 N. Madueke
6.18
5 J. Stones
6.14
1 J. Pickford
6.02
25 D. Spence
5.94
24 R. James
5.93
26 J. Quansah
5.73
15 D. Burn
5.72
13 D. Henderson
5.68
Back to team tabs

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

Related topics