England vs. Costa Rica: Vardy, Alexander-Arnold and Butland to get their chance

Gareth Southgate will hand opportunities to
squad players in final World Cup warm-up game

One-Minute Read

Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Fabian
Delph and Jamie Vardy are the five Yorkies, but Southgate has also
stressed the importance of trying out new combinations and giving
some game time to the more inexperienced members of the squad.

One of those will be 19-year-old Liverpool defender Trent
Alexander-Arnold. “I would have no qualms of putting him into the
opening game,” said Southgate. “He is here on merit, his quality
has been top and he has settled into the group really well. It is a
huge moment for him, but fully deserved.”

Kieran Trippier impressed in the right wing-back role in
Saturday’s 2-1 win over Nigeria and while the Tottenham defender is
the favourite to start in Russia, Southgate is adamant that he
remains open-minded when it comes to his starting XI for the first
match against Tunisia on Monday week.

“One of the keys of us getting through these two matches
was to try and make sure every member of our squad gets a
significant member of game time,” he said. “You want to know who is
in form and any time a player has 10 minutes or 90 minutes on the
field, they have an opportunity to make a statement in the way they
play.”

Jack Butland will also get his chance in goal against the Costa
Ricans. Jordan Pickford has been given the No.1 shirt for the World
Cup and looks likely to start in Russia, but Butland is “determined
to prove his worth” tonight, Sky Sports reports. 

“Until there is an official announcement whereby I’m not
playing then I will keep fighting and I’ll keep pushing and staking
my claim to be the No.1, regardless of shirt number,” said Butland.
“We’ll see what happens. I’ll push myself as hard as I can and push
the others as hard as I can as well.”

While captain Harry Kane will start as England’s main striker in
Russia, Leicester star Vardy “could influence Southgate’s thinking”
with an impressive display tonight, says the Daily Mail.  

England vs. Costa Rica

• When: tonight 
• Kick-off time: 8pm 
• Where: Elland Road, Leeds 
• TV channel: live on ITV