England starting lineup vs Costa Rica confirmed for FIFA World Cup 2026 warm-up friendly

England take on Costa Rica in a FIFA World Cup 2026 warm-up friendly at the Inter&Co Stadium on Wednesday.

England will wrap up their FIFA World Cup 2026 warm-up with a friendly against Costa Rica at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Just a week ahead of their opening fixture against Croatia, the Three Lions will look to build some momentum with a big win over Los Ticos.

Thomas Tuchel’s England national team laboured to a 1-0 win over New Zealand in their last match, which followed a 1-0 loss to Japan. Despite their uninspired performances in the FIFA World Cup 2026 warm-up friendlies, the Three Lions have boasted a strong defence, keeping a clean sheet in every match they have won since October 2024.

For Costa Rica, the upcoming fixture against a nearly full-strength English side will be a good test of their mettle. Despite a brilliant quarter-final run in 2014 and back-to-back World Cup appearances since then, Los Ticos failed to qualify for this year’s edition in North America.

Tuchel, however, will not take Costa Rica lightly. The German head coach is expected to field a strong starting XI and give them an hour or so of football before making the sort of wholesale changes we saw against New Zealand.

Let’s look at England’s confirmed lineup in the FIFA World Cup 2026 warm-up match against Costa Rica:

England (4-2-3-1): Jordan Pickford; Reece James, Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Nico O’Reilly; Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice; Noni Madueke, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane.

Thoughts on the lineup

Bukayo Saka’s fitness issues led to Tuchel benching the Arsenal man, with his club teammate Noni Madueke starting on the right flank. The former Chelsea head coach also opted for new Barcelona man Anthony Gordon on the left wing instead of Marcus Rashford.

Harry Kane, who scored the winner against New Zealand, was once again handed the captain’s armband. John Stones, meanwhile, was given the nod in the centre of defence ahead of the ever-present Marc Guehi. Stones is joined by Ezri Konsa, who was rested by Tuchel for the previous friendlies. Jarell Quansah and Djed Spence may come on at either full-back position in the second half.

Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, who will likely be their team’s starting midfield pair, will control the middle of the park tonight. However, expect Kobbie Mainoo and Eberechi Eze to play a significant chunk of the match tonight.

While Jordan Pickford is expected to start between the sticks, Tuchel may opt to bring on Dean Henderson for the second half to give the Crystal Palace goalkeeper some minutes under his belt.

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