Rice believes England will continue to improve and look forward to the World Cup with excellent results.

England defeated Costa Rica 3-0 in a friendly match thanks to goals from Rice, Gordon, and Watkins. With the World Cup approaching, Arsenal star Rice said the players performed very well and he believes the team will continue to improve.

In the match against Costa Rica, Gordon assisted Rice to score in the 9th minute, giving England a 1-0 lead.

In the 66th minute of the second half, during a goalmouth scramble, Eze's shot touched Costa Rica defender Daryl Araya's hand, awarding England a penalty. Gordon then converted the penalty, giving England a 2-0 lead over Costa Rica.

In the 88th minute, Jade Spence passed the ball to Morgan Rodgers, who took a long-range shot, but it was blocked by Costa Rica goalkeeper Madriz. Watkins then headed the ball into the net, helping England extend their lead to 3-0.

In the end, England defeated Costa Rica 3-0 in this friendly match, successfully entering the World Cup with a winning streak.

Rice, who was appointed England's vice-captain, said: "I think we played very well, and manager Tuchel asked us to further increase the intensity of the game, including the tempo when we have the ball and the counter-pressing after losing possession. I think everyone played very well, including the substitutes. Especially in the second half, we played a very exciting game."

In addition, England will face Croatia in the first round of Group L of the 2026 World Cup, and the hot weather in the host country will be another challenge for the European team.

However, Rice stated, "I think we've adapted, and as everyone can see, the high temperatures are no longer a problem. We've been working to adapt to these weather conditions for the past week or about 10 days."

Rice added, "Playing with Gordon and Nico O'Reilly, we spent the whole week discussing how to coordinate, how to rotate positions, and how to make the attack more flexible, and we saw the results in the first half."

"I think the whole team is building confidence and improving their physical condition. With the first World Cup match approaching, we have more training to complete and the team will continue to improve."

In addition, Gordon said in an interview, "There will always be pressure when playing for England because there are many top players competing behind you. The pressure is always there, and if you can't handle that pressure, it means that the player hasn't reached that level yet."

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