England 3 – 0 Costa Rica

Anthony Gordon starred as England stepped up their World Cup preparations with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica in their final official friendly before the tournament.

A thunderstorm drenched the surface in Orlando causing an hour delay to kick-off. England’s performance wasn’t quite as dramatic but there were encouraging signs for Thomas Tuchel in a week off in their World Cup opener with Croatia.

Gordon was the standout of those. The new Barcelona winger was full of confidence and showed his speed and directness to run around the Costa Rican defense and cut the ball out for Declan Rice’s deflected opener.

Gordon then underlined his form by scoring a penalty in the second half. He appears to have won the battle with Marcus Rashford for the left-wing spot against Croatia.

Ollie Watkins then came off the bench to finish third for an England side that played with more intensity than they did in Saturday’s win over New Zealand. They should have had more wins against Costa Rica, who failed to qualify for the World Cup.

Noni Madueke had a shocking first-half miss, shooting against the post with a gaping goal, while sub Morgan Rodgers wasted a great chance of his own 15 minutes into the game. However, a shot by substitute goalkeeper Abraham Madriz fell into the path of Watkins.

Rodgers may fear he has lost the number 10 shirt to Jude Bellingham, who caught the eye with his superb pass for Madukek’s big chance and dribbled past four defenders in the build-up to Eberechi Eze to win Gordon’s penalty.

In another nod to his standing in the team, Tuchel took the Bellingham captain’s armband when Harry Kane went off in a wave of substitutes after giving his strong starting XI an hour.

In those first 60 minutes, Rice, playing his first minutes of camp after joining late because of Arsenal’s Champions League final, immediately looked up to speed, while full-backs Reece James and Nico O’Reilly looked comfortable. The centre-back pairing of John Stones and Ezri Konsa – with Mark Guihy surprisingly on the bench – was untested.

At the other end, Kane was heavily involved, playing a delicious pass to Gordon down in the box late in the first half, although a VAR review saw ref Katja Koroleva overturn his initial penalty award. There was no goal this time after captain Patrick Sequeira opened the scoring with a header against New Zealand.

With fresh legs to prove through the team and players, England pinned Costa Rica in the closing stages, scoring another goal through Watkins and looking for more rewards. Bukayo Saka, Kobi Mainu and Rodgers were again on target as England finished with a bang.

England will continue their World Cup preparations with a behind-doors match against local side Miami FC on Thursday. They appear to be on a positive trajectory.

Tuchel: A top-level performance

Thomas Tuchel speaking to ITV:

“We deserved to win, we should have scored more, created more. Attitude, intensity and energy were at a very high level. Everyone did well. Very good team performance. We wanted to push to the next level and we got it – the fans in the stadium could feel it. The counter pressing was good, the defending, together – everything was at a high level.

“Tonight put my mind at ease because we’re going in absolutely the right direction and I’m very proud of the team’s attitude. The guys who came on were influential and the lads on the bench were pushing. It’s exactly what we wanted.

“We saw very good substitutes who were very disappointed not to start. They came in and played with the same intensity and quality against tired opponents – good for everyone.”

Does he know his starting XI for Croatia? “I will find 11 for tomorrow’s game and then I have six days.

“We play tomorrow and then the players get a day and a half off to shut down. And then we switch locations to go to Kansas to get ready for Croatia. What we saw today was what we wanted and what we wanted so I’m very calm and very proud of the way we played.”

Gordon: I like the pressure of punishment

Anthony Gordon speaking to ITV:

“There’s always pressure playing for England, as you know there are great players coming off the bench waiting to make an impact. If you can’t deal with that, you’re at the wrong stage. I’m playing with great players to make me look better.”

In penalty: “I was buzzing H (Ken) was off, I was trying to find him but when I knew he was off, I wanted to take it. I like the pressure of punishment.”

In pictures: Thunder and lightning storms cause hour-long delays

The view from Orlando: Flamboyant, spunky, energetic England impressed

Sky Sports’ Rob Dorsett:

“The pedantic will argue, rightly, that England should have scored more goals. They didn’t ruthlessly put a poor Costa Rica to the sword earlier. It’s true.

“But there was more to Thomas Tuchel than the three goals from Rice, Gordon and Watkins. England were slick, fast, energetic. They pressed high and effectively despite the heat and humidity.

“Bellingham was outstanding again, and will surely now pip his partner Morgan Rogers for the No.10 spot.

“Stones was classy, ​​as you’d expect, and he enhanced his position in the side. But perhaps the standout man was Anthony “Barcelona” Gordon, who scored one and scored a goal (emphatically from the spot) and was England’s most direct threat.

“He must have given Tuchel some real doubts as to whether Rashford really is England’s first-choice left winger.

“Iz had a nice cameo and looked very sharp in the last minute as well.

“No apparent injuries, despite some strong Costa Rica challenges. And I think Tuchel will reflect on a very good day’s work.

“Next, the proper World Cup. Bring it on.”

What next?

World Cup started! Mexico v South Africa Thursday 11 June tournament opener; Kick-off is 8pm UK time.

England begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia, their first Group L clash on Wednesday 17 June in Arlington, Texas at 9pm.