In control against a weak Costa Rican team, England are brimming with confidence ahead of the World Cup

Never troubled by Costa Rica, who will not be playing in the World Cup, England won without faltering in Orlando in their last outing before the World Cup (3-0), while torrential rain delayed the kick-off by an hour.

With the skies finally clearing and an hour late – kickoff having been postponed due to torrential rain that had rendered the pitch unplayable before the match – England secured a deserved 3-0 victory in what were ultimately satisfactory conditions, thanks to their near-constant control in Orlando on Wednesday, during their final warm-up match before the World Cup. The Three Lions will begin their campaign against Croatia on June 17 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Four days after a narrow victory against New Zealand (1-0), despite almost total control of the match (23 shots to 3, 71% possession), England initially experienced a similar scenario against Costa Rica, who will miss a World Cup for the first time since 2010, before pulling away in the last half hour.

From the opening moments, Declan Rice opened the scoring (1-0, 9th minute), converting a cutback from Anthony Gordon with his left foot. His shot, slightly deflected by Riga FC midfielder Orlando Galo, wrong-footed Casa Pia goalkeeper Patrick Sequeira. Never truly threatened, England then dictated the tempo of the game. They thought they had been awarded a penalty just before halftime (45+2), before American referee Ekaterina Koroleva overturned her decision after consulting with her VAR assistants.

An opposition too limited to draw any lessons from it

Upon returning from the locker room, five minutes after a flurry of six substitutions made during a single stoppage in play, Eberechi Eze's shot struck the outstretched but unintentional hand of Joseth Peraza. Shortly after Harry Kane's substitution, Anthony Gordon stepped up to the penalty spot and gave Sequeira no chance, finding the top right corner with a confident strike (2-0, 68th minute).

The gap could have been even wider had Morgan Rogers not missed his one-on-one with the Costa Rican goalkeeper (75th minute), but England sealed the victory with a clever header from Ollie Watkins, perfectly positioned after a parried shot from Rogers (3-0, 87th minute). Serious and disciplined, England secured a reassuring win. However, it remains difficult to draw any significant conclusions from the match, given how limited the opposition offered by Costa Rica proved to be.