STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Weds: England v Costa Rica

England face Costa Rica on Wednesday night in their final match before their 2026 World Cup campaign gets underway, writes JOE CITRONE.

Croatia await in Dallas on June 17th, and Thomas Tuchel has just one more game to nail down his plans.

This is the last chance to fine-tune, experiment and – crucially – get through unscathed. The good news for England fans is that the Arsenal quartet of Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze have now all linked up with the squad after their Champions League commitments, which means Tuchel has his full hand available for the first time this summer.

Tuchel was openly unhappy after the 1-0 win over New Zealand on Saturday, criticising what he called a “freestyle” first half that lacked structure. Expect a more coherent display tonight as he looks to field something closer to his first-choice XI and build combinations ahead of the real thing.

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England v Costa Rica
International Friendly
21:00 ITV1

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
JUN 2018 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY England 2-0 Costa Rica
JUN 2014 WORLD CUP England 0-0 Costa Rica

ENGLAND
JUN 2026 FRIENDLY England 1-0 New Zealand
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY England 0-1 Japan
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY England 1-1 Uruguay
NOV 2025 WC QUALIFYING England 2-0 Albania
NOV 2025 WC QUALIFYING England 2-0 Serbia

COSTA RICA
JUN 2026 FRIENDLY Colombia 3-1 Costa Rica
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY Iran 5-0 Costa Rica
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY Jordan 2-2 Costa Rica
NOV 2025 WC QUALIFYING Costa Rica 0-0 Honduras
NOV 2025 WC QUALIFYING Haiti 1-0 Costa Rica

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Costa Rica didn’t make it to this World Cup – they were eliminated in CONCACAF qualifying – so they are here purely as a sparring partner, which means England should have enough to get the job done comfortably.

The Ticos have been dreadful in recent months: a 5-0 thumping by Iran in March, followed by a 3-1 defeat to Colombia last week, paints a pretty grim picture. They have a new coach in Argentine Fernando Batista and look very much like a side in transition.

Again, I am not expecting a thriller here, but I do think England will get the job done and go into the World Cup off the back of a win. At even money with starsports.bet, I like the look of England and under 3.5 goals.

Also, as the tussle for the number 10 spot heats up between Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham, I like the look of Rogers to score anytime at 6/4.

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(JUNE 2026): PROFIT/LOSS: 2.38 points

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