1 hour ago
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Key events
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 …
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”.
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.
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!
