{"id":1093,"date":"2026-06-11T01:26:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T01:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xrpfaucet.site\/england-3-0-costa-rica-gordon-bets-on-world-cup-start-in-friendly\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T01:26:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T01:26:19","slug":"england-3-0-costa-rica-gordon-bets-on-world-cup-start-in-friendly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xrpfaucet.site\/?p=1093","title":{"rendered":"England 3-0 Costa Rica – Gordon bets on World Cup start in friendly"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Anthony Gordon may have taken advantage of his chance to start England<\/a> at the World Cup with a goal and an assist as the Three Lions beat Costa Rica in Orlando.<\/p>\n

A much better game of improved intensity and quality gave the tourists a final warm-up before kick-off World Cup<\/a> starts on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Declan Rice opened the scoring thanks to a smart run and Gordon’s pass which netted him his seventh goal for his country as Thomas Tuchel held a final audition for the players hoping to make it next week.<\/p>\n

Barcelona’s new signing Gordon<\/a> was someone who certainly impressed on the left flank as England got a physical workout from a stubborn, if limited, Costa Rica side who will not be in the finals.<\/p>\n

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Fast start from THREE LIONS! \ud83e\udd81\ud83c\udff3<\/p>\n

Declan Rice dismisses it to give England the lead \ud83d\udca5 pic.twitter.com\/K04zePrnwQ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Gordon converted a penalty after the break before Aston Villa duo Morgan Rodgers and Ollie Watkins combined and Watkins headed home late in the third.<\/p>\n

Kick-off was delayed an hour to 10pm BST after torrential rain and lightning struck Orlando.<\/p>\n

England were without Bukayo Sakho, who is still not fully fit, but Tuchel was otherwise more or less at full strength. Surprisingly, it was the first time his chosen XI had played together.<\/p>\n

Once the game finally got underway, the pitch at the Inter&Co Stadium was surprisingly decent.<\/p>\n

Jude Bellingham scored the first try of the night, slotting over from close range after good play down the left between Gordon and Nick O’Reilly.<\/p>\n

The physical and intense start was a stark contrast to the practice game against New Zealand at the weekend.<\/p>\n

O’Reilly and Gordon were impressive and after another incisive attack down the left, Barcelona’s new winger again beat his man and found Rice to head home with authority.<\/p>\n

Kane headed in decently as Patrick Sequeira cleared the ball before the Costa Rica keeper was able to save Noni Madueke’s effort.<\/p>\n

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Maduke should have scored after a brilliant pass from Bellingham, but he beat the keeper and hit the post.<\/p>\n

Kane, dropping deep, played a great ball behind the defense and Gordon won the game from the penalty spot. But after watching the VAR, the spot kick was canceled by the referee Ekaterina Karoleva.<\/p>\n

Tuchel made no changes at half-time as he gave his first-choice XI some much-needed minutes in the Florida humidity.<\/p>\n

Another gem of a cross from Kane found Madueke in space and his shot was curled wide before changes were made on the hour mark. <\/p>\n

Sacco was among those introduced when Bellingham played as a false nine to give Kane a rest.<\/p>\n

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Brilliant footwork from Real Madrid gave Eberechi Eze the lead, who fired a shot into the hands of Aaron Salazar before Korolev again pointed to the spot.<\/p>\n

This time the decision stood and as Kane came off, Gordon stepped up and fired into the top corner.<\/p>\n

There was a time when another substitute, Rodgers, missed his seat after better play from Eze, and then Rodgers hit a powerful shot that was passed and Watkins made no mistake.<\/p>\n

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And Ollie Watkins makes it THREE! \u26bd\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f<\/p>\n

The Aston Villa striker pounces to give England a perfect miss pic.twitter.com\/RQGthvwY5T<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The meeting with the 53rd-ranked team in the world is the Three Lions’ final meeting before their World Cup campaign kicks off against Croatia on June 17 (21:00 BST). part of a group also featuring Ghana and Panama.<\/a><\/p>\n

Read: How to watch every World Cup game in the UK.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n