England players have their last chance to impress Thomas Tuchel when they face Costa Rica in a friendly tonight. The match takes place in Orlando, Florida, with kick-off scheduled for 9pm BST.
Team news and injury concerns
Tuchel has confirmed an injury worry in the build-up to the match, with Bukayo Saka struggling with an Achilles complaint. The winger is a doubt for the Costa Rica game, but his Arsenal team-mates Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke are fully fit.
“Bukayo is just not there yet. Some things are missing, consecutive training. They took very good care of him and were very aware of it at Arsenal, and we will do a little bit the same,” Tuchel said in a press conference. “He is available for tomorrow, but he needs management to be fully, fully 100 per cent, which he is not. I think it is very unlikely Bukayo starts and finishes all the matches from now on.”
Bellingham's battle for a starting spot
Jude Bellingham is a man who will want to impress tonight after being warned he must fight to earn his place in the England starting XI. “Well, we have a lot of proof we can win football matches without Jude and that’s the more important headline. Jude is with us,” Tuchel said yesterday. “Jude is in amazing form but we have to stop talking about individuals. Jude is in a sweet spot. But Jude will not win this World Cup alone. It’s simply impossible.”
The Real Madrid midfielder is in competition with Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the No.10 position. It will be one of the key talking points after tonight's friendly.
Match preview
The 1-0 win over New Zealand on Saturday did little to inspire the Three Lions fans, who will hope to get more encouragement from the 9pm kick-off in Orlando. The England manager will start with a strong line-up tonight, with the XI close to the one which will take on Croatia in their first Group L fixture on June 17.
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