Preview: England vs Costa Rica - prediction, team news, lineups

World Cup 2026 preparations conclude for England on Wednesday evening, when the Three Lions square off against former Mundial foes Costa Rica in Orlando.

Thomas Tuchel's team laboured to a 1-0 victory over New Zealand in their penultimate warm-up friendly, a few days after their opponents fell to a 3-1 loss to Colombia.

Match preview

A sub-optimal pitch, unforgiving temperatures and a full complement of changes at half time was a recipe for a forgettable match between England and New Zealand, and so it proved in the Three Lions' narrow success at the Raymond James Stadium.

Who else but Harry Kane would produce the solitary moment of attacking quality in Tampa, flicking in the defining header on the stroke of half time - his 79th goal for his nation - to end England's two-match winless run.

Tuchel was unsurprisingly less than impressed with what he witnessed in Florida, and the time for tinkering is surely over for the former Chelsea head coach, as Wednesday's showdown is his final opportunity to find the favourable World Cup formula.

England will at least enjoy a seven-day reprieve in between the Costa Rica clash and their World Cup opener against Croatia, but attacking concerns are still lingering for the Three Lions, who have failed to score more than once in a game in 2026 so far.

However, by virtue of shutting out New Zealand on Saturday, each of England's last 12 victories has been to nil, last conceding in a triumph in a 3-1 Nations League success over Finland in October 2024. This is the sort of information to bear in mind if you are thinking of betting on the World Cup, and it is included in our World Cup sports betting guide.

Absent from the upcoming global gathering, Costa Rica sought to qualify for a fourth successive World Cup this time around, following their inspirational quarter-final run in 2014 and group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022.

Los Ticos strode into the third round of CONCACAF Qualifying with 12 points from a possible 12, but a string of stalemates - four draws from a possible six - in the next phase cost them a spot in North America.

Finishing below both Haiti and Honduras in their third-round section, Costa Rica triggered the wrath of apoplectic fans and parted ways with head coach Miguel Herrera immediately after their failed World Cup venture; ex-Venezuela boss Fernando Batista was chosen to succeed him.

The 55-year-old Argentine is still waiting for his first triumph at the helm, though, kicking off his reign with a 2-2 draw against Jordan before a humbling 5-0 loss to Iran and 3-1 reverse to Colombia on June 2.

As Batista aims to make it fourth time lucky, Costa Rica are hoping that the third time is the charm against England, whom they held to a 0-0 draw in the 2014 World Cup before a 2-0 friendly defeat four years later.

England International Friendlies form:

England form (all competitions):

Costa Rica International Friendlies form:

Costa Rica form (all competitions):

Team News

Granted an extended rest period owing to their Champions League final commitments with Arsenal, Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke have now joined up with their international teammates in the England camp.

Vice-captain Rice and the indispensable Saka should immediately be considered for starts on Wednesday, when Tuchel should abandon his experimentation and settle on a first-choice World Cup XI.

Jude Bellingham, Reece James and Nico O'Reilly should also earn promotion to the starting lineup if that is the case, but John Stones and Marc Guehi are expected to continue as Tuchel's central defensive pairing.

On Costa Rica's end, there is a notable absentee in the form of Joel Campbell, the 150-cap former Arsenal youngster who was not called up for the June squad.

Instead, the attacking onus will fall on Spartak Moscow striker Manfred Ugalde, the top scorer in this month's Costa Rican ranks with 11 international strikes to his name.

England possible starting lineup:

Pickford; James, Stones, Guehi, O'Reilly; Anderson, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Rashford; Kane

Costa Rica possible starting lineup:

Sequeira; Quiros, Mitchell, Faerron, Araya; Salazar, Flores; Mora, Soto, Alcocer; Ugalde

We say: England 3-0 Costa Rica

England's recent attacking displays have been nothing to write home about, but if Tuchel finally reverts to his strongest XI, the Three Lions' offensive woes should be consigned to history.

Also faced with a Costa Rica side low on confidence and defensive steel - shipping 10 goals in their last three games - England are backed to enter the World Cup on a high.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.