The English national team won its final warm-up match ahead of the 2026 World Cup with a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica. Harry Kane and his teammates had plenty of chances to win by an even wider margin. It was a very attacking dress rehearsal for the Three Lions.
For Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, the goal in this final warm-up match before the World Cup was to finally spark some excitement back home, as the Three Lions’ performances had been somewhat lackluster recently—most notably in March’s 1-1 draw against Uruguay and 0-1 loss to Japan, as well as last Saturday’s 1-0 win over New Zealand.
Compared to the narrow win against New Zealand, Tuchel made eight changes. Among others, Arsenal stars Rice and Madueke, who hadn’t been part of the squad in the penultimate friendly, moved into the starting lineup. James, Konsa, O’Reilly, Anderson, Bellingham, and Gordon also came in. In their place, Quansah, Guehi, Spence, Henderson, Mainoo, Watkins, Rogers, and Rashford started on the bench.
Gordon sets up Rice for the 1-0
The match started promisingly for England: Bellingham had his first chance after just six minutes. Just three minutes later, Kane appealed for a penalty but didn’t get it. That didn’t matter much, though, because shortly after, Rice converted a well-earned 1-0 lead following a strong dribble by Gordon (9th minute). In this early phase, Costa Rica was under constant pressure, and England created chances every minute. It took a while, however, for the next big opportunity to arrive. In the 23rd minute, Kane got his head to a free-kick cross from Rice. The Bayern star did everything right, but couldn’t celebrate a 2-0 lead because Costa Rican keeper Sequeira made an outstanding save.
Costa Rica was virtually nowhere to be seen on offense, only getting a chance once thanks to a mistake by Pickford (30th minute). The Three Lions had everything under control and SHOULD have finally scored the deserved 2-0 in the 36th minute, but Madueke, who beat Sequeira with a strong run after a pass from Bellingham, only managed to hit the post of the empty net.
Shortly before halftime, England was awarded a penalty kick. Would they finally extend their lead? No, because referee Koroleva reversed her decision after reviewing the footage, as she deemed the standard tackle between Johnson and Gordon insufficient to warrant a penalty (45’+4).
Penalty without Kane: Gordon stays cool
The second half began with an attempt by Madueke that strongly resembled Olise’s signature shot, but the Englishman’s aim was not precise enough (48th min.). Overall, England struggled a bit in the second half to create serious scoring chances. The game also didn’t benefit from the frequent substitutions on both sides. But then Koroleva pointed to the spot again: she had spotted a handball by Faerron—it was a harsh decision (66′). With Kane already on the bench, Gordon stepped up and slammed the ball into the left corner (67′).
Watkins seals the deal
After that—aside from a few substitutions—not much happened at first. But then Eze played a strong through ball to Rogers, who, with a clear shot on goal, missed the target (76th)—that was the next huge chance that was squandered. After that, the match drifted toward its conclusion until Watkins suddenly made it 3-0. He nodded in a rebound from close range (87th minute).
In the final minutes, the Three Lions really turned up the heat. It was a strong finish, with several players putting themselves in contention for a starting spot at the World Cup. England’s tournament kicks off next Wednesday (10 p.m.) against Croatia. The final warm-up match has given them renewed hope.
