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Gordon secures 3-0 victory for England against Costa Rica in the 2026 pre-World Cup friendly

England proved why they are a legitimate frontrunner to lift the 2026 World Cup trophy, cruising to a commanding 3-0 victory over Costa Rica on the back of a standout performance from Anthony Gordon, who looked like the best player on the pitch.

Anthony Gordon #18 of England celebrates.
© Richard Pelham/Getty ImagesAnthony Gordon #18 of England celebrates.

England didn’t hesitate to prove they are serious contenders to hoist the 2026 World Cup trophy, cruising to a commanding 3-0 victory over Costa Rica, with Anthony Gordon as the MVP, in their final international friendly before their highly anticipated tournament opener against Croatia.

Costa Rica failed to qualify for this year’s tournament, and the fans on hand quickly saw why. Los Ticos struggled to generate any meaningful attacking threats and allowed the Three Lions to dictate the tempo entirely from the opening whistle. At this point, Costa Rica‘s focus must completely shift toward rebuilding for the 2030 World Cup qualifying cycle as they aim to return to soccer’s biggest stage.

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In England’s final friendly ahead of the World Cup, Anthony Gordon and his team defeated Costa Rica 3-0 in an exciting match!

You followed the live minute-by-minute coverage here on Bolavip, and we look forward to having you join us for another live coverage soon. See you next time!

90+6' - ENGLAND WIN (3-0)

With a great performance, England secured a victory over Costa Rica, ahead of their 2026 World Cup debut on June 17.

90+3' - Eze want to score his goal (3-0)

With two shots on target, Eze was close to score his goal in the last part of the game.

90' - Additional time (3-0)

Six minutes of additional time.

87' - WATKINS SCORES (3-0)

A header from Ollie Watkins gives England their third goal of the game.

84' - England want to score their third goal (2-0)

With Saka in the lead, England want to score another goal before the game ends.

81' - Substitutions for Costa Rica (2-0)

Ugalde, Mora, Araya are out, Ruiz, Sinclair, Rodriguez are in for Costa Rica.

78' - England are confident on the field (2-0)

Without any trouble, England have the ball and the result, but they want to score another goal. Costa Rica just defend.

75' - England try to score through free kicks (2-0)

Costa Rica have fouled England in the last couple of minutes, and those free kicks are a menace for the Central American team.

73' - England don't hold back (2-0)

They want to score another goal and Costa Rica keep defending.

70' - The match restart with substitutions (2-0)

Rashford, Quansah, Watkins, Mainoo are in, Bellingham, Gordon, Konsa, Anderson are out for England.

67' - Cooling break (2-0)

Time to hydrate.

66' - GORDON SCORES (2-0)

After a penalty given to England, Gordon scores the second goal for his team.

63' - Multiple substitutions are coming up in England and Costa Rica (1-0)

Madriz enters, and Sequeira is out injured. Eze, Henderson, Saka, Spence, Guehi, Watkins are in, Rice, Pickford, Madueke, James, Kane, Stones are out for England

60' - Multiple substitutions are coming up in England (1-0)

Saka and Eze are warming up to enter in the field.

58' - Sequeira is laying down on the field (1-0)

With a supposed injury, Sequeira will be subbed off and Madriz is warming up.

55' - Substitutions for Costa Rica (1-0)

Quiroz and Nunez in, Johnson and Soto out.

53' - Costa Rica have the same mentality (1-0)

Despite the half time chat, Costa Rica don't have a different attitude and England dominate.

50' - Ball possession (1-0)

England 82%, Costa Rica 18%.

48' - MADUEKE IS A MENACE FOR COSTA RICA (1-0)

After a great ball possession from England, Madueke did an outstanding individual play and almost scored from a long-range shoot.

45' - Second half underway (1-0)

Ekaterina Koroleva blows her whistle and the second half starts.

First half stats

  • First Half Score: England 1 – 0 Costa Rica
  • Total Shots: England 8, Costa Rica 2
  • Shots on Target: England 3, Costa Rica 0
  • Shots on Post: England 1, Costa Rica 0
  • Corners: England 5, Costa Rica 1
  • Total Yellow Cards: 2
  • England Yellow Cards: 0
  • Costa Rica Yellow Cards: 2 (Shawn Johnson 21', Carlos Mora 45')
  • Total Red Cards: 0

45+4' - VAR intervene and there is no penalty - Halftime (1-0)

After a VAR review, England weren't granted with a penalty. And the first half ends.

45+2' - Penalty for England (1-0)

Gordon was fouled in the area and the referee sanctioned a penalty.

45' - Additional time (1-0)

Referee adds four minutes.

42' - England are closer to score a goal than Costa Rica (1-0)

Everything England are doing is in Costa Rica's area. The Central American team seem confused.

39' - Ball possession (1-0)

England 80%, Costa Rica 20%.

36' - MADUEKE MISSED A CLEAR CHANCE TO SCORE (1-0)

A great counterattack from Jude Bellingham, finished in Madueke having the chance to score in front of the goal, but he hit the post.

34' - England keep dominating (1-0)

Despite Pickford's mistake, Costa Rica don't have the necessary intensity to create danger in England's area.

31' - Costa Rica touched England's area for the first time (1-0)

With a mistake from Jordan Pickford, Costa Rica had the chance to score, but the ball went to the corner kick. Nothing else happened.

29' - The match restart (1-0)

The match restart in the first half.

26' - Cooling break (1-0)

Time to hydrate.

25' - SEQUEIRA AGAIN (1-0)

Madueke took a rebound and shot on target, but Sequeira saved for Costa Rica.

22' - SEQUEIRA SAVES COSTA RICA (1-0)

Harry Kane's header after a free kick almost sent the ball to the goal, but goalkeeper Sequeira touched and sent it to the corner kick.

20' - Costa Rica haven't touched England's area (1-0)

England's pressing with Madueke, Gordon and Kane, have created that Costa Rica can't advance to their area.

17' - Ball possession (1-0)

Costa Rica are just defending the result, as England keep pressing.

15' - Ball possession (1-0)

England 82%, Costa Rica 18%.

13' - Anthony Gordon is a menace (1-0)

New Barcelona's player, Anthony Gordon, is leading England in the attack and created another dangerous situation.

10' - ENGLAND SCORE! (1-0)

Declan Rice scores for England after a great play from Anthony Gordon in the left side of the field.

8' - England now dominate (0-0)

After a couple of minutes of ball possession from Costa Rica, England now have controlled the ball possession and are trying to create dangerous situations.

5' - Ball possession (0-0)

England 58%, Costa Rica 42%.

2' - Costa Rica don't hide (0-0)

Despite England are one of the candidates to win the World Cup, Costa Rica don't mind and are having the ball possession so far.

0' - First half underway! (0-0)

Referee Ekaterina Koroleva blows his whistle and the international friendly starts.

Everything is ready to start

Both teams are entering the field for the protocolary acts and everything is ready to start.

Teams are gearing up for the international friendly

After warming up, both teams are gearing up for their international friendly and they are waiting for the protocolary acts.

Both teams are warming up

As the weather conditions are better, both teams are warming up at Inter&Co Stadium.

H2H between England and Costa Rica

The all-time head-to-head history between England and Costa Rica consists of exactly two previous encounters, with the Three Lions remaining unbeaten and yet to concede a goal against Los Ticos. Their first meeting occurred on June 24, 2014, during the FIFA World Cup group stage in Brazil, resulting in a 0–0 stalemate that allowed an impressive Costa Rica side to top the "Group of Death" while eliminating England.

Their secondary matchup took place four years later on June 7, 2018, when England secured a comfortable 2–0 victory at Elland Road in an international friendly powered by goals from Marcus Rashford and Danny Welbeck.

Today's referee

The referee Ekaterina Koroleva will be the woman for the job in the international friendly.

Venue's weather update

The official social media account of Inter&Co Stadium has delivered a weather update, as they mentioned: "We have exited the weather delay, and it is now safe to return to your seats in the stadium bowl."

Costa Rica lineup

Costa Rica's starting XI: Patrick Sequeira; Shawn Johnson, Jeyland Mitchell, Fernan Faerron, Darril Araya; Aaron Salazar, Orlando Galo, Andrey Soto, Carlos Mora; Josimar Alcocer, Manfred Ugalde

New start time for the international friendly

According to England's official X account, the match will kick off now at 5 pm ET (2 pm PT) following a pitch inspection.

England lineup

England's starting XI: Jordan Pickford; Ezri Konsa, Nico O'Reilly, Reese James, Josh Stones; Ben Rice, Jude Bellingham, Elliot Anderson; Noni Madueke, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane.

Teams arrive at Inter&Co Stadium

Despite the weather conditions, both teams have arrived at Inter&Co Stadium and there is expectation regarding the time to play this international friendly.

Start time and how to watch

England vs Costa Rica was expected to be played at 4:00 PM ET (1:00 PM PT), but due to weather conditions, the start time has changed, and yet to be confirmed.

Watch this International friendly match between England and Costa Rica live in the USA on Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV, ViX.

An interesting match between England and Costa Rica

Welcome to a new live blog here at Bolavip! On this occasion, England and Costa Rica host Nigeria at home in their final friendly ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

You can follow the live minute-by-minute coverage so you don’t miss a single detail of everything that happens in the match.

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