12 June,2026 09:24 AM IST | New York | Agencies
England’s Declan Rice (right) celebrates his goal against Costa Rica with teammate Anthony Gordon in Orlando on Wednesday. Pic/AFP
Thomas Tuchel was pleased with what he saw from his team, as England swept aside Costa Rica in Orlando to take one more step towards the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Although the kickoff in Orlando was delayed for an hour after a torrential storm flooded the pitch, England produced a crisp and aggressive performance, in contrast to Saturday's lacklustre outing against New Zealand.
An early goal from Declan Rice set the Three Lions on their way, before a second-half penalty from Anthony Gordon and a late header from Ollie Watkins sealed the victory.
"I wished for that, I demanded that; I said before the match we want to push it to the next level, from intensity, commitment, cohesion, and we did that," said Tuchel as quoted by Xinhua.
"We see the adaptation to the heat, and we see things clicking, but we demanded it today from the players to take the next step, and they did. The result takes care of itself, but we did it on a high level," he added.
"The work rate gives us a good feeling and intensity, and we can impose ourselves on the opponent, and the movement is up front and not running backwards," he said.
Meanwhile, Portugal beat Nigeria 2-1, with goals from Pedro Neto and Francisco Conceicao making up for an off night for Cristiano Ronaldo.
1966
The year in which England won their only World Cup title
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