It was the day when Thomas Tuchel showed his hand for England’s World Cup opener against Croatia in Dallas next Wednesday and his players hinted at what can happen when they play with intensity and slick connections.
The paucity of the opposition had to be considered. Costa Rica barely even saw the ball; it was entirely a rearguard effort from them. But there was nevertheless encouragement for Tuchel, who went strong with his lineup, the occasion framed, really, by who he picked at the outset.
It was hard not to read deeply into his calls, the biggest of which was Jude Bellingham over Morgan Rogers in the No 10 role. Bellingham was very good and he was not alone. Tuchel preferred Anthony Gordon to Marcus Rashford on the left and was rewarded with a driving performance from him. The other eye-catching decisions were Ezri Konsa over Marc Guéhi in central defence and Noni Madueke on the right wing, with Bukayo Saka not at 100%.
The game was delayed by an hour, set back to 5pm local time after a downpour of biblical proportions plus thunder and lightning. England coped well with it. Their focus was clear and they were on their way when Declan Rice gave them an early lead. England could have had a hatful but they could be content with their additional goals from Gordon, who hammered home a penalty, and Ollie Watkins, towards the end. The substitute tapped home on the rebound after Rogers, who also came off the bench, had seen a shot saved.
Bellingham was in the mood from the first whistle. It took him precisely eight seconds to charge into his first block tackle and that industry was replicated across the team. It was a blistering start by England, Gordon serving notice of his intention to give the Costa Rica right-back, Shawn Johnson, a hard time.
The breakthrough goal came up the England left and it was a piece of old-fashioned wing play by Gordon; a dart around the outside of Johnson, the acceleration explosive. When he pulled back from the byline, Rice swept a deflected left-footed shot into the far corner.
It had been easy to fear that the game might not be played – certainly as the rain lashed down from around 1.30pm local time. There was lightning, which was the major worry, and all that was missing was the sight of animals assembling two by two. At 2.30pm, the pitch looked waterlogged in parts. So: a nod to the drainage system. – it was extraordinary. By 3pm, with the rain having eased, the surface looked fine.
England’s dominance was total, their tempo high throughout despite the heat and humidity. Costa Rica barely crossed halfway. Madueke blew a huge one-on-one on 36 minutes after Bellingham had sent him clean through. The move was sparked by a Harry Kane flick; the captain’s connections with Bellingham were encouraging. Madueke danced around the goalkeeper, Patrick Sequeira, only to hit the near post as the open goal yawned. He took on the shot with his left foot to the right of goal. It was the wrong decision.
Kane had worked Sequeira with a header from Rice’s free-kick in the 22nd minute while Gordon was simply too much for Johnson. Time and again, he blasted away from him. Gordon thought he had won a penalty from the right-back in first-half stoppage time, feeling a little bit of contact in his back and going to ground. The referee, Katja Koroleva, pointed to the spot only to reverse the decision after a nudge from her video assistant. Koroleva decided that Gordon had exaggerated the contact.
Tuchel raged at the fourth official about the non-award as they left the field for half-time and he could have been unhappy too at a loose pass by Jordan Pickford on the half hour that almost led to a Costa Rica chance. It was an isolated moment of alarm for England.
It had been quite the day for Elliot Anderson, featuring his club, Nottingham Forest, rebuffing Manchester City’s latest mega-money bid for him. He was able to blot it out. Perhaps he was simply determined to prove he was worth even more. Anderson was so easy on the eye. England pushed for more in the second half. Madueke took a fizzed low diagonal from Kane and sliced inside before curling just wide of the far post. Despite his horror miss earlier, Madueke’s all-round game was good. After a deep Rice corner, Nico O’Reilly could not finish on the spin after Konsa had headed back.
Tuchel made six substitutions just after the hour, the headline item being Rogers for Kane, a move that saw Bellingham briefly push up as a central striker. It was Bellingham who teed up another replacement, Eberechi Eze, and when his shot hit the arm of the Costa Rica substitute Joseth Peraza, Koroleva pointed to the spot. It looked as though Bellingham was about to take it until Tuchel’s assistant, Anthony Barry, appeared to say that it should be Gordon. His finish was emphatic. Rogers was guilty of a bad miss on 76 minutes. Watkins had the final word.
