England vs Costa Rica: TV channel, live stream, squad news & preview

Ryan Kelly

England vs Costa Rica: TV channel, live stream, squad news & preview image

England conclude their World Cup warm-up schedule when they face off against fellow World Cup-bound side Costa Rica at Elland Road in Leeds.

Gareth Southgate's side come into the game on the back of a 2-1 victory over Nigeria and they will be looking for a similar result as they look to arrive in Russia on a high.

The win over Nigeria stretched the Three Lions' unbeaten run to nine games, a streak that also includes draws against Brazil, Germany and Italy, as well as a win over the Netherlands.

Los Ticos also come into the game full of confidence, having defeated Northern Ireland 3-0 in San Jose over the weekend, and they have one final friendly to go - against Belgium - before embarking on their own World Cup odyssey.

Game England vs Costa Rica
Date Thursday, June 7
Time 8:00pm BST / 3:00pm ET
Stream (US only) fubo TV (7-day free trial)

TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch


In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

US TV channel Online stream
FOX Sports 1 fubo TV (7-day free trial)

In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on TV on ITV or streamed live online using the ITV Player.

UK TV channel Online stream
ITV ITV Player

Squads & Team News


Position England players
Goalkeepers Pickford, Pope, Butland
Defenders Walker, Rose, Stones, Maguire, Trippier, Cahill, Jones, Delph, Young, Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders Dier, Lingard, Henderson, Alli, Loftus-Cheek
Forwards Kane, Sterling, Vardy, Welbeck, Rashford

Having played Jordan Pickford for the entirety of the game against Nigeria, Southgate has indicated that Jack Butland will play against Costa Rica.

With a fully fit squad to choose from, there is likely to be experimentation elsewhere on the pitch as the Three Lions boss figures out the best approach for Russia.

Potential England XI: Butland; Walker, Stones, Maguire; Rose, Alexander-Arnold, Dier, Henderson, Alli; Sterling, Kane.

Position Costa Rica players
Goalkeepers Navas, Pemberton, Moreira
Defenders Acosta, Gonzalez, Smith, Duarte, Oviedo, Calvo, Gamboa, Waston, Matarrita
Midfielders Borges, Bolanos, Colindres, Wallace, Azofeifa, Tejeda, Guzman
Forwards Campbell, Ruiz, Venegas, Urena

Costa Rica's squad for the World Cup was confirmed on June 4 and there are plenty of talented figures within Oscar Ramirez's 23-man panel, including Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

Navas was taken off after just 35 minutes in the win over Northern Ireland, but should be fit to feature against England. Otherwise, Leonel Moreira could get the nod.

In attack, Arsenal winger Joel Campbell offers a potent threat alongside captain Bryan Ruiz.

Potential Costa Rica XI: Navas; Acosta, Gonzalez, Duarte; Oviedo, Gamboa, Guzman, Borges, Campbell, Colindres; Ruiz. 


Betting & Match Odds


England are 4/11 favourites to win the match according to dabblebet, with Costa Rica commanding odds of 15/2. A draw between the teams is a 10/3 bet.

Click here to see all of dabblebet's offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.


Match Preview


Raheem Sterling England 2018

England's clash against Costa Rica is the last chance for Southgate to run the rule over his squad ahead of their opening World Cup game against Tunisia, which takes place 11 days later.

Naturally enough, the strutiny has begun to intensify on his panel, with the controversy over Raheem Sterling's tattoo and Danny Rose's concerns over racism already taking the focus away from what's happening on the pitch, so the Three Lions boss will have to work hard to ensure the players keep their eyes on the prize.

And, with places in the starting XI still ostensibly up for grabs they will have to remain tuned in for the visit of Costa Rica, who are sure to provide a suitably stern test before things get serious.

Los Ticos made light work of Michael O'Neill's workmanlike Northern Ireland in their last outing and also claimed victory over Scotland back in March, so they appear to be well matched with England, but their form has been erratic, with defeats to Spain, Hungary and Tunisia also blotting their recent record.

The result of the game will ultimately pale into insigificance come June 18 in Volgograd and the chief concern for Southgate will be for his players to come through the exercise unscathed, but primed for battle.

Ryan Kelly