England

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When Thomas Tuchel decided to leave Manchester United veteran Harry Maguire out of his World Cup squad, it placed his faith in John Stones even further under the microscope.

Manchester City's Stones was troubled by injury throughout last season and is now waiting to decide his next club after leaving Etihad Stadium, but his class and pedigree at the highest level has never been in question.

This is why Tuchel included him in this squad, and the head coach will have been delighted to see Stones get another 63 minutes under his belt against Costa Rica after playing 45 minutes against New Zealand.

If he is fully fit, as seems to be the case, then the temptation will be huge for Tuchel to start his most accomplished and experienced defender against Croatia.

Presumably, he would line up alongside Manchester City defender Marc Guehi - although Ezri Konsa's inclusion from the start on Wednesday points to an alternative option.

Guehi and Stones did, though, play 45 minutes together against New Zealand and know each other well both internationally and at club level.

Identifying the sturdiest pairing is another decision that could prove pivotal as England and Tuchel aim for a strong start to their campaign.

BBC 5 Live Breakfast

England fan Kerry on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast: "It was pretty good, it was much better than the other one, I'm glad they have climatised now.

"I think the way that they set up last night and the changes that [Thomas Tuchel] made, you can see where his head is at. I think what is promising is that there is a strong bench as well and as was seen last night, there's so many options.

"I think that gives us a bit of a highlight as to where we are going to go as well."

Roy Keane
Former Republic of Ireland captain on ITV

I think Thomas Tuchel will be pleased. There was more intensity in terms of the opposition. A good urgency from England that I enjoyed.

England

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Arsenal's Bukayo Saka will fill the right-sided slot if he is fit enough. A lingering Achilles tendon injury has led Tuchel to manage his minutes carefully, but he is first choice.

Saka's Arsenal team-mate Madueke produced a mixed bag of a performance on the right against Costa Rica.

The real intrigue centres on who plays on England's left. It looks to be between new Barcelona signing Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford – whose future at the Nou Camp is uncertain following his loan from Manchester United.

That is another sub-plot to the selection situation, and there is no obvious answer to who will get the nod.

Rashford was one of England's brightest sparks against New Zealand, while Gordon looked rusty as a substitute, his cause seemingly not helped by his inaction at Newcastle in the final weeks of last season, when it became clear he was leaving Tyneside and he was left on the sidelines.

Gordon, however, did his chances no harm with a fine performance against Costa Rica.

That's more like it Dave and Harry!

England

England boss Thomas Tuchel spoke to ITV after Wednesday's victory: "We saw very good substitutes, who, of course, were disappointed not to start, but to come in and to play with the same intensity and quality against a more tired opponent."

On whether he knows his starting XI v Croatia: "No. I have another six days I think."

On preparation for Croatia: "First of all, we have a match tomorrow. Another friendly match to get minutes into the players who didn't play today.

"Then the players get one and a half days off to switch off physically and mentally. Change location, go to Kansas and then prepare for Croatia.

"What we saw today was exactly what we wished for and exactly what we wanted. Very proud. Next stop, Kansas."

England

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One of the major talking points in terms of team selection for Thomas Tuchel has centred around whether Jude Bellingham or Morgan Rogers should get the nod for the number 10 spot.

The German boss has seemed happy to foster healthy competition between the two boyhood friends, but now decision time is coming.

Aston Villa's Rogers has been the player in possession, Tuchel keeping faith with the 23-year-old as Bellingham endured a mixed season at Real Madrid, interrupted by shoulder and hamstring injuries.

Tuchel started with Rogers against New Zealand, although nothing could be read into that as Bellingham came on for the second half and took on the captaincy.

There are effectively 14 or 15 "starters" that Tuchel has in mind within England's squad, and both are in that group.

But unless Tuchel decides to play Rogers on the left against Croatia, only one of the duo will be in that particular line-up.

It will be arguably the biggest decision of Tuchel's reign, and there was no doubt Bellingham resembled a man on a mission against Costa Rica.

Read more from Phil McNulty here.

Hmmmm.

Not even a ball kicked yet and already playing down England's chances!

Come on, where is the optimism?

Ian Wright
Former Arsenal striker on ITV

Thomas Tuchel doesn't seem to be worried about anything too much, simply because he just feels like he saw everything he needed to see in respect of the unity, the way they played, the way the substitutes came on and contributed.

All I would say looking from the outside in, is see those chances taken.

England

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Thomas Tuchel will have one final chance to cast an eye over his England squad when they face Miami FC in a behind-closed-doors game, before they begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia on 17 June.

Tuchel was unhappy with England's lack of intensity in their opening friendly against New Zealand in Tampa last week, the 1-0 win was effectively a glorified training session as he fielded two different teams in each half.

But the meeting with Costa Rica was a sharp contrast, a fierce physical test with plenty of helpful pointers.

When asked by BBC Radio 5 Live after the game whether his starting line-up on Wednesday would be the same as for that opening group game, he answered simply: "Maybe."

The German then added: "But we will always keep our cards in our hand. We will not give any decisions away because my thoughts at the moment are not for Croatia, they're for here today.

"It was a very strong line-up but it was a very strong bench as well."

We've got more to come from chief football writer Phil McNulty, but we want you to get in touch!

Now seems like as perfect time as any to ask how you're planning to manage this World Cup.

Are you getting up/staying up for South Korea v Czech Republic at 03:00 BST on Friday?

Scotland fans, you're opening game is also in the wee hours of the morning (not that I need to remind you).

You'll all be setting those alarm clocks for the 02:00 BST kick-off against Haiti on Sunday, right?

England

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England's first friendly after arriving in the United States had been little more than a glorified training session when New Zealand were beaten 1-0 in Tampa on Saturday.

Costa Rica, in contrast, provided the perfect opposition as England stepped up to another level.

This was exactly the sort of workout head coach Thomas Tuchel wanted as he finalises plans for the World Cup opener against Croatia.

England faced durable opposition who were determined to give the game a competitive edge with uncompromising tackling and stubborn defence.

And Tuchel will also have been delighted with how players who are effectively fighting for their places showed determination to make an impression.

Anthony Gordon was lively from the first whistle, making Declan Rice's goal and giving Costa Rica defender Shawn Johnson a torrid time. He also took responsibility for the second-half penalty that sealed victory with regular taker Harry Kane having been substituted.

Jude Bellingham showed the sort of world-class touches that will make it difficult for Tuchel to leave him out, while defender John Stones got another 63 minutes under his belt to put himself in contention to start against Croatia.

Tuchel can carry out final tweaks in that private game against Miami FC before he makes selection decisions that really matter as England's World Cup gets under way.

We've not even had a ball kicked at the World Cup but there are already plenty of talking points - especially when it comes to who starts for England.

Our chief football writer Phil McNulty has been toying with some of the questions over who starts on the back of last night's game...

England

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England stepped up a gear in their final friendly before the World Cup with an impressive performance to beat Costa Rica in Orlando.

After kick-off was delayed for an hour by storms, Declan Rice gave England an early lead with a deflected shot as he took advantage of good work by new Barcelona signing Anthony Gordon.

Jude Bellingham started ahead of Morgan Rogers in the number 10 role and looked sharp as he pressed his claim to start in the team's World Cup opener against Croatia in Dallas on 17 June.

Bellingham put Noni Madueke through in the first half, only for the Arsenal forward to hit the post after rounding Costa Rica keeper Patrick Sequeira when he looked sure to find an empty net.

Real Madrid man Bellingham's brilliant run then helped England find a second goal after 68 minutes, when he set up substitute Eberechi Eze for a shot that was handled – Gordon scoring the resulting penalty.

Ollie Watkins came off the bench and pounced with a close-range header three minutes from the end to give England a victory margin that reflected their dominance.

England will now have a behind-closed-doors game against Miami FC to give some players extra minutes and work on strategy before the serious business starts against Croatia.

Read Phil McNulty's full report.

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Welcome along.

Has World Cup fever set in yet?

We're 13 hours away from the opening game of the 2026 World Cup when co-hosts Mexico face South Africa at the iconic Azteca Stadium - yes, it's the same venue where Diego Maradona scored the notorious 'Hand of God' goal against England.

On the topic of England, we've got reaction from last night's 3-0 friendly win over Costa Rica and, of course, a comprehensive build-up to the biggest competition in world football.

Shall we?