David Hytner was at the Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, and his report is in. Here it is. Thanks for reading this MBM. Not long to go now!
Thomas Tuchel speaks to ITV Sport. “We did very well … we deserved to win … we should have had more goals … created a lot … the attitude, energy and intensity was on a very high level … everyone did well … a very good team performance … we wanted to push to the next level and clearly got it … we worked hard … togetherness … it makes my mind very calm because we are on absolutely the right way … I am very proud … the guys who came in were super influential … the guys who came out were pushing from the bench … exactly what we wanted … well done to everyone … we have a friendly match tomorrow … the players get one and a half days off … switch off physically but also mentally … then we prepare for Croatia … very calm and very proud … next stop Kansas!”
Elsewhere in Fifaland™ …
Declan Rice talks to ITV. “The manager was onto us to ramp it up … intensity with the ball … counter-pressing … the performance tonight was top from everyone … really good last game before it all starts … the first week, ten days has been adapting to the heat … we’re building confidence and fitness … we’re going to keep building … really good.”
Anthony Gordon adds: “There’s always pressure when you are playing for England … if you can’t deal with that, you’re at the wrong level … I love penalties … I love the pressure of them … glad to see that one go in.”
That’s a satisfactory run-out for Thomas Tuchel’s squad. There’s not a great deal to be read into a warm-up friendly, but then that’s not really the point. Job done for England: more minutes in everyone’s legs, no injuries, quite a few contented faces as thoughts now turn to next Wednesday: England v Croatia at the home of the Dallas Cowboys. The World Cup is here, baby, and the fever is rising.
FULL TIME: England 3-0 Costa Rica
We got there in the end.
90 min +5: Watkins races into the box, down the inside-left channel. His attempt to force the ball past Madriz is deflected out for a corner, from which Rogers scoops a shot from the edge of the box over the bar.
90 min +3: … and now Mainoo shoots low and hard through a crowded box. Madriz smothers. England’s players all searching for a confidence-boosting goal.
90 min +2: Saka and Rashford take a short corner out on the left, exchange passes, then cut back to tee up Eze, whose curler meant for the bottom right is sliced clear by Quiros.
90 min +1: The first of six additional minutes passes uneventfully, as Tom Hopkins wonders: “Just to check, have they got enough overs in to avoid paying refunds?”
90 min: Saka drops a shoulder to make space down the right, and fizzes a shot-cum-cross through the six-yard box. There’s nobody in a white shirt to toe-poke home.
89 min: “Football’s coming home!” trill the England supporters. What’s the point in sport if you’re not allowed to dream?
GOAL! England 3-0 Costa Rica (Watkins 87)
A cute Rogers backheel releases Rashford into the box from the left. Rashford shoots. The ball’s half cleared. Rogers swings it in from the left. Madriz gets down to meet, but can only punch the ball straight up in the air, inviting Watkins to head home from a couple of yards. A more realistic scoreline now, given the balance of play all evening.
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86 min: Another England corner from the right. Saka’s delivery is headed clear by Galo. England come again, Rogers sashaying into the box from the right but failing to keep his cross down to accessible height.
85 min: Guehi combines well with Rogers down the right. The ball’s whizzed low into the centre, where Mitchell hooks clear under pressure from Rashford.
83 min: Saka rolls a pass down the right for Rogers, who can’t control on the byline, but the ball clanks off Salazar and out for a corner. Saka takes it. Guehi fails to win a header at the near stick, and Costa Rica clear. This match is puttering out.
81 min: Ruiz, Sinclair and Rodríguez are replaced by Mora, Ugalde and Araya.
79 min: Salazar slides in on Mainoo, and is the latest Costa Rica player to escape a second yellow. It is a friendly, to be fair, and Thomas Tuchel wouldn’t want to waste his time playing against ten men. Still, if there was anything on the line tonight, Costa Rica would surely be down a couple of players by now.
78 min: All of those subs have jiggered the rhythm of this match. England struggling to get anything going at the moment.
76 min: It should be three. Eze rolls a defence-splitter down the inside-right channel to release Rogers, on the right-hand edge of the D. He opens his body and sidefoots past both Madriz and the right-hand post. An awful miss. Not quite as egregious as Madueke’s first-half open-goal howler, but again, best to get these things out of your system now.
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75 min: Nunez is booked for stopping Mainoo take a quick free kick.
73 min: Saka sends a corner in from the left. Mitchell grapples with Burn, bringing the sub down, risking both the concession of a penalty and a second yellow card. But the referee ignores the incident altogether.
72 min: England make five more changes. Konsa, O’Reilly, Anderson, Bellingham and Gordon are replaced by Burn, Watkins, Mainoo, Rashford and Quansah.
70 min: Plopp and Kex, though! And yes, I’ve never really progressed since infant school.
69 min: … and that’s drinks. Once again, pick your poison from the list. Though can I also recommend Sweden’s entry, a smorgasbord of pick’n’mix sweeties that include brands such as PLOPP and KEX.
GOAL! England 2-0 Costa Rica (Gordon 68 pen)
With Kane subbed, the responsibility falls to Gordon … who absolutely skelps the penalty into the top-left corner. Madriz went the wrong way, but even if he guessed correctly, he was never getting to that.
Penalty for England
66 min: Bellingham Ricky Villas his way through the Costa Rica box, left to right past six players. Having attracted them all, he cuts back for Eze, who shoots goalwards. The shot pings off Araya’s elbow, and wide right, The referee points to the spot.
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65 min: So far, England have completed 335 passes to Costa Rica’s 40. It’s been an attack-versus-defence kind of game.
64 min: Now for six England changes. Pickford, Rice, Stones, Kane, Madueke and James make way for Dean Henderson, Guehi, Saka, Rogers, Eze and Spence.
62 min: Ah, Sequeira eventually makes way for Madriz.
61 min: The game restarts, and the keeper stays on. Costa Rica had gotten Sequeira’s replacement Madriz stripped and ready, as well. Tuchel is raging.
60 min: Sequeira is given quite the massage. On the touchline, Thomas Tuchel complains about the long stoppage in theatrical style.
58 min: Sequeira appears to have pulled something while drop-kicking upfield. On comes the doctor.
57 min: Mora tugs O’Reilly back, and is perhaps fortunate not to be shown a second yellow card. From the free kick, Bellingham tries to catch Sequeira out but the keeper smothers.
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56 min: … and then the free kick happens, to little effect.
55 min: Salazar is booked for hauling down an in-flight Konsa. Before the free kick can be taken, Soto is replaced by Nunez.
54 min: Madueke crosses long from the right. Gordon would need circus stilts to meet it. Goal kick.
52 min: O’Reilly slips a ball down the left intended for Gordon; it’s turned out for a corner. Rice sends it long. Konsa cushions it into the path of O’Reilly, who is caught between spinning and shooting, or laying off to a team-mate. In the event, he achieves neither. Costa Rica clear.
51 min: England pass and probe in the patient manner. Costa Rica, dropping deep in a low block, hold firm.
49 min: A rare sortie for Costa Rica in the England half. It’s a one-man affair, Mora powering his way down the inside-right channel, all the way to the box. But Rice is stuck on his shoulder, and eventually eases him off the ball, shepherding it out for a goal kick. That’s impressive tracking back by Rice, playing his first game since his Champions League disappointment.
48 min: Madueke has another wander in from the right, this time found by Kane. He makes time and space now, and whistles a fierce shot inches wide of the top-left corner. Not sure Sequeira was getting a hand to that. Madueke really skelped that one.
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47 min: Anderson sends a diagonal pass to Madueke on the right touchline. Madueke dribbles infield but can’t quite make himself enough time and space to shoot. Lovely pinged pass by Anderson.
England get the second half started. Thomas Tuchel made 11 changes at half-time against New Zealand … and the sum total of zero tonight. Costa Rica have made one change, replacing Johnson - who was getting ripped to shreds by Gordon and was on a booking - with Quiros.
Half-time entertainment. “I’ve no idea how to make something go viral,” begins Ian Copestake. “I have certainly failed with my own book! But I thought Tim Vine’s catchy England World Cup song deserves an airing.”
Not bad, but just as in 1982 with the This Time / We Have A Dream dynamic, Scotland win the World Cup Song Face-Off. This knocks Belle and Sebastian into a cocked bunnet.
HALF TIME: England 1-0 Costa Rica
England have been impressive in patches; Costa Rica aggressive. It’s been a fun watch, and Thomas Tuchel will be pleased with his team’s performance in the round. Harry Kane not particularly happy at being denied the chance to score his 80th international goal, mind you.
VAR: England penalty overturned
45 min +4: The referee changes her mind. Correct decision. Gordon has the good grace to look slightly sheepish.
45 min +3: … but VAR gets involved, sending the referee over to the screen. Gordon went over very easily. In fact, there was no contact between feet or legs. Just an arm in the back, and that arm’s surely not enough for Gordon to go over like he did.
Penalty for England!
45 min +2: Kane drops deep and wedges a shot down the inside-left channel. Gordon tries to latch onto it inside the box, but can’t control to shoot. Instead he turns … and is clipped from behind by Johnson. The referee points to the spot.
45 min: Mora is booked for high-kicking Anderson upside the head. There are four additional minutes to get through before something spectacular breaks out.
43 min: … and to complete a triptych of pugnaciousness, Konsa clatters Ugalde, who isn’t particularly pleased. The referee then wanders over to book someone from the Costa Rica bench. It’s now a question of what comes first: the half-time whistle or a bench-emptying brawl.
42 min: Now it’s Soto versus O’Reilly, as the pair tangle on the left flank. There’s an edge developing.
40 min: Araya comes through the back of Madueke in enthusiastic fashion. It should be a booking, but it’s just a free kick. Madueke isn’t happy with his aggressor, and Bellingham comes over to join in with the bellicose hi-jinx, but things eventually calm down … and nothing comes of the resulting set piece.
38 min: Anderson and Galo butt heads accidentally. Ooyah, that looked painful. The trainers come on to run some checks. Thankfully there’s no blood, no glazed expressions, and both men are rubber-stamped as fit to continue.
36 min: More embarrassed smiles, as Madueke is released down the middle by Bellingham’s defence-splitter. Madueke rounds Sequeira to the right, but he’s running at high speed, and his feet aren’t under full control. He flips a shot towards an empty net, only for it to clank off the base of the right-hand post, back towards Madueke, then off his tangled feet and out for a goal kick. That’s a bit farcical, and once again, the smile-joke reaction might not fly when the real action starts. But hey, if you’re going to miss open goals, better get them out of your system now.
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34 min: Rice goes directly for goal, blootering the ball wastefully over the bar. A few of his team-mates wonder why he didn’t try to tee them up instead. They all share a laugh and a joke, though Rice shouldn’t expect a similar response if he tries that under tournament conditions.
33 min: Gordon again makes a nuisance of himself down the left, and is barged over by Mitchell, just before he enters the box. A free kick and a chance for England to cause a lot of trouble.
31 min: … which is wasted. Mora slams it back up the left flank, towards Araya, who was looking the other way. Oh dear. England – well, Pickford – get away with getting a bit sloppy.
30 min: Pickford shanks a dismal clearance straight to Mora, who should take a speculative whack from 30 yards, with the goalkeeper out of position, but doesn’t back himself. He lays off to Galo, whose poor shot is deflected out for a corner …
29 min: The game restarts.
28 min: The players enjoy their bevvies. You deserve one too. Here, take a look at the menu.
26 min: … Kane blazes over the bar. And that’s drinks!
25 min: James and Anderson combine well down the right. The latter’s fierce low cross is only half cleared, and drops to Madueke, whose shot bagatelles its way through the box and nearly squeaks into the bottom right. Sequeira manages to turn it away at the expense of a corner, from which …
24 min: Rice surprises everyone by firing a low corner into the box. No England player reacts. Alcocer clears.
23 min: Rice’s delivery is better this time. Kane meets it, and flicks it on towards the right-hand portion of the net. Sequeira extends fully to fingertip the ball around the post. That was necessary, because it was heading in. Rice trots across to take the corner from the right.
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22 min: Gordon takes on Johnson down the left again. He’s got him on toast. And now he’s got him on a booking. He tears past him and Johnson presses the panic button, sliding in from behind. Another free kick for Rice to send in.
20 min: Rice overhits the free kick and it’s an easy pluck for Sequeira.
19 min: England get patient. A long passing sequence. Eventually Mora gets fed up and clips Anderson out on the left touchline. Rice prepares to send the free kick into a crowded box.
17 min: Other than to block and clear, Costa Rica have hardly touched the ball. England are in total control.
15 min: After the ref takes some time to lecture the Costa Rica defence about holding, Rice sends the corner long. Kane, taking advantage of the new hands-off diktat, finds space at the far stick and heads back across goal. Konsa heads goalwards from six yards, but can’t get any decent purchase on the ball. It’s blocked and cleared. This is a very positive start by England.
13 min: Araya takes the best part of 15 seconds to take a throw. It’s not turned over to England, as per the new law that demands a five-second dispatch. When play eventually restarts, Gordon launches another sortie down the left, reaching the byline and flicking a cross-cum-shot to the near post, where Shequeira nearly fumbles into his own net. Just a corner, which Rice will take.
11 min: That was a magnificent run by Gordon. He’s had a decent couple of weeks.
GOAL! England 1-0 Costa Rica (Rice 9)
Gordon, who has already made a couple of exciting runs down the left, embarks on a third. He turns on the jets to scoot past Johnson with absurd ease, cuts into the box and pulls back for Rice, who threads a first-time diagonal bobble across Sequeira and into the bottom right. That’s a lovely goal.
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8 min: Gordon and O’Reilly combine nicely down the left. England switch the play, and Anderson crosses from the right. Kane goes over at the far stick, not requiring much encouragement it has to be said. The referee shows no interest in awarding a penalty.
7 min: Madueke whips the corner into the mixer. Bellingham falls as he attempts to meet it, six yards out. But there’s no notable contact and Costa Rica are able to clear their lines.
6 min: England establish a modicum of control, probing down both flanks. Suddenly Bellingham bursts in from the left and has a shy from the edge of the box. It’s deflected wide right, but only just. The keeper Sequeira was rooted to the spot and wasn’t getting there. A corner, which Madueke will take.
4 min: …and now Alcocer, fully recovered from that early blow, skittles Madueke. Everyone more than happy to put themselves about.
3 min: … and now Ugalde comes clattering into Anderson, so the whistle goes again. Thomas Tuchel wants a physical test tonight, and already it looks like both teams are going to put a show on for him.
2 min: All a bit scrappy during the opening exchanges. James hauls down Alcocer, and then clumsily stands on his stricken opponent’s wrist. The Costa Rica winger felt that. No intent, though, and nothing comes of the resulting free kick.
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Well, one way or another that was interminable … but eventually the whistle goes, and Costa Rica kick-off.
Finally, the teams are out! Both teams are in their first-choice kit: England in white, Costa Rica in red shirts and blue shorts. Just enough time for some fireworks, anthems and pennant-swapping, and we’ll be off.
Forest reject Man City's £122m Anderson bid
One of tonight’s starters may or may not have something else on his mind. Here’s some hot-off-the-press news courtesy of Jamie Jackson.
Thomas Tuchel speaks to ITV, having taken positives from the weather delay … “It gives us a little bit of taste of what can happen in the tournament … we were aware of that before … now we experience it, it’s no problem … should not be an excuse to lose our mood or patience or hunger to play the game … no problem at all.”
As for the state of the pitch … “The pitch seemed surprisingly dry for the amount of water that came down … they know what they are doing … it seems good to play.”
On fitness and acclimatisation … “We can see we have made progress when we checked the blood and sweat of the players … acclimatisation is there … we are getting fitter and fitter … now it is on the team to put a good performance.”
… and finally about tonight’s team … “It’s a very strong line-up … we have very strong players on the bench … we are taking the next step … pushing the boundaries … stepping up intensity … off the ball and with the ball … see what we are able to produce … it is the first time [Jude Bellingham] has played with Harry [Kane], Declan [Rice] and Elliot [Anderson] together, so it’s a good test of concept.”
Pre-match postbag II. “Florida weather unpredictable? You can set your watch by the storms this time of year” – Jon Collins
“I recall leaving my exposed seat at Mexico v Ireland in 1994 and finding scores of sun-stricken Irish fans being treated in the inner concourse of the stadium. That match was played in Orlando at midday for European TV schedules. Fifa continues to be a Mickey Mouse organisation that can barely run a bath, but still want to bottle and sell the water when they do” – Justin Kavanagh
“That thunder delay took almost as long as a VAR review” – Peter Oh
Back to Orlando, where the sprinklers have been turned on at the Inter&Co Stadium. At England’s request. I can’t in all honesty explain why. Perhaps it’s satire. Americans love a bit of English satire.
You can also fill those empty moments back up to the brim with our comprehensive Player Guide. This priceless resource features every single player going to North America this summer, with potted bios written by experts from all around the world. Its homepage is linked below, plus some details of the guy who scored the last-minute winner that sent England home in that aforementioned Bracketology fever dream. Anyway, give it a whirl, and we’ll see you again just before full-time.
There will most likely be a lot of this sort of hanging about during this World Cup. Just as well, then, that the Guardian has created this marvellous monument to time-wasting: Bracketology, in which you can curate your very own World Cup story. Or you can simply hit “shuffle” and see whose name pops up as champion. I’ve just done that, and can exclusively report that DR Congo beat Germany in the final. England didn’t get out of their group, meanwhile. I’d love to know what happened against Panama. Anyway, give it a go, and I’ll see you back here in three hours. We’ll wait for you.
Kick-off now 10pm BST, 5pm EDT
Kick-off has been confirmed for 5pm local time, subject to no further delays, reports David Hytner. That’s 10pm BST.
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OBO MBM Postbag. “This MBM is taking on a reassuringly familiar ‘we all know there’ll be no play at Headingley today, just a matter of time before they call it’ vibe. Is it uncouth to observe that it is, in the end, just a pre tournament kick about, not worth taking risks with a soggy pitch?” – Tom Hopkins
“Since the last match against New Zealand had worries about the pitch, and this one has a rain delay, perhaps Thomas Tuchel should ask for the English cricket captain to join the squad to pass on his experience. It’s not as if he’s got anything planned for the next week or two” – Bob O’Hara
“With the amount of surface water, having Rice on the pitch seems appropriate” – Andy Gordon
Jude Bellingham gets the nod over Morgan Rogers in the number 10 role. Declan Rice is back in the midfield, having joined up with the squad late due to Arsenal’s participation in the Champions League final. His club team-mate Noni Madueke gets the nod over fellow Gunner Bukayo Saka on the right.
The teams
England: Pickford, Konsa, O’Reilly, Stones, James, Rice, Anderson, Bellingham, Gordon, Madueke, Kane.
Subs: D Henderson, Guehi, Saka, Rashford, Livramento, J Henderson, Burn, Mainoo, Rogers, Watkins, Eze, Toney, Spence, Quansah, Trafford.
Costa Rica: Sequeira, Johnson, Mitchell, Faerron, Araya, Salazar, Carlos Mora, Galo, Soto, Alcocer, Ugalde.
Subs: Bayron Mora, Madriz, Peraza, Ruiz, Nunez, Flores, Sinclair, Quiros, Rodriguez.
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It’s still raining in Orlando, though no longer a torrent, and it’s also brightening up. However there’s still that threat of thunder and lightning. Also to be taken into consideration is the state of the pitch: it should clear of standing water in time for kick-off, providing the rain doesn’t get heavier again, but would Thomas Tuchel be happy to risk his players on it? Well, if it answers the latter question any, the team news has just dropped …
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David Hytner reports that more lightning has been predicted by stadium staff long used to such delays. But Florida weather being what it is, all is not yet lost.
It seems that the safety protocols involve a 30-minute delay after the last lightning strike rather than 45 minutes. We are looking at a delay one way or another – and it looks like it will be more than 20 minutes; possibly one hour. We’ve just been told by some of the organisers at the stadium that they are expecting more lightning. Disclaimer – the Florida weather is very unpredictable. At a little after 3pm local time, a small number of fans were allowed into the stands from the shelter of the concourses.
Jacob Steinberg is also in situ. Presumably he and all of his electronic equipment are in better nick than the poor chap pictured below, because he’s just managed to ping a message to tell you all that “we are hearing an hour delay”.
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Here’s a picture which further illustrates how damp it is in Orlando. Florida wasn’t like this in the brochure.
Kick-off now 9.20pm BST, 4.20pm EDT
David Hytner reports from Orlando that the delay has just been announced as 20 minutes. The new kick-off time will be 4.20pm local, 9.20pm BST.
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Kick-off delayed
No big surprise here. The kick-off has been officially delayed due to the heavy thunderstorm in Orlando that has left the pitch at Inter&Co Stadium waterlogged. It’s not yet been announced how long the delay will be – or indeed if the match will start at all. Expect more of this over the next month.
More from David Hytner.
I’ve seen some rain storms in my time – one in Jakarta during an Arsenal pre-season tour springs to mind – but this one in Orlando is right up there. A colleague has just dashed 50 yards into our hotel from the car park and has had to get changed because he was utterly drenched. The game’s announcers have just said that the ticket collection point for fans has been temporarily closed. They “hope to resume operations as soon as it is safe to do so.”
… so yes, we hope kick-off will be as scheduled. But there’s been some torrential rain in Orlando today, which might end up causing a delay. Here’s an update from our man at the scene, David Hytner.
Absolutely torrential downpour here in Orlando – with a flash of lightning seen at 1.38pm local time, with the England game against Costa Rica due to kick-off at 4pm local time (9pm BST). According to the stadium’s safety protocols, if “lightning is detected within eight miles, the referee can suspend the match with play resuming no earlier than 45 minutes after the last strike.” It is due to clear up before kick-off so hopefully all will be fine … it’s worth noting that if there is further lightning, the 45-minute clock would reset.
Chelsea fans may remember a similar situation unfolding at the Club World Cup in North Carolina last year. Heavy-eyelidded MBM hacks certainly do.
Preamble
England have concluded their World Cup warm-up business against Costa Rica before. That was in 2018, and after this …
… they made it all the way to the semi-finals in Russia. Say what you like about omens and vibes: they might not materially help, but neither do they hinder. Let’s just not talk about the other time the two countries met. Oh Mr Roy! Kick-off in Orlando, Florida is at 9pm BST. It’s on!
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