englandfootball.com

Declan Rice: We’ve adapted to the heat

Declan Rice scores for England against Costa Rica

Declan Rice scores for England against Costa Rica

Midfielder says England are prepared for the North American conditions after a 3-0 win over Costa Rica in their World Cup warm-up

Declan Rice marked the week he was made England men’s vice-captain with a goal as the Three Lions capped off their FIFA World Cup 2026 preparations with a 3-0 win against Costa Rica.

After Rice opened the scoring after 10 minutes, Anthony Gordon and Ollie Watkins added gloss to the scoreline in Orlando, in a match that was delayed by one hour due to weather conditions.

It was the last World Cup warm-up game for Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions, who face Croatia on 17 June in their World Cup opener.

“[We did] really well, in my opinion,” Rice said afterwards. “The manager was on to us before the game to ramp it up, the intensity with the ball, counter-pressing.

“I thought the performance tonight was top from everyone, even the boys who came off the bench, it was an outstanding second-half performance. A really good last game before it all starts.

“I think we've adapted. You can see the heat is not really a problem now. The first week, ten days, have been adapting to the heat.

thomas-tuchel-england-v-costa-rica-match-reaction-20261006

thomas-tuchel-england-v-costa-rica-match-reaction-20261006

Read full news in source page