[Official] 'Shock loss to Japan' England confirms schedule for 'surprise' warm-up match before World Cup

*This content was translated by AI.

The schedule for the final warm-up match against the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup of the English national soccer team, which suffered a "shock loss" to Japan in the A-match warm-up match in March, has been confirmed.

The English Football Association (FA) said on the 9th (local time) that "the English national team will play New Zealand in the United States on June 6 and Costa Rica on the 10th."

England were in Group L along with Croatia, Ghana and Panama in this 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup. The match against Costa Rica, which will be the last warm-up match, will be held a week before Croatia, the first group match of the World Cup.

In the FIFA rankings, England is ranked fourth, with a wide gap with New Zealand (85th) and Costa Rica (51st). Even though Costa Rica was a team that was eliminated from the qualifying round for this 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup, it was selected as England's "last sparring" opponent.

The match against New Zealand, which is classified as the weakest among the teams participating in the World Cup finals, is expected to aim to boost the condition of the English national team's strikers. Costa Rica is not a team that qualifies for the World Cup finals, but it is meaningful in preparation for the match against Panama that belongs to the same continent.

England, which is trying to win the championship for the first time in 60 years since its 1966 tournament, is considered one of the strong contenders for this tournament as it is lined with world-class players. Most of the other players, as well as some European big clubs such as Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) and Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), are made up of players who play in the English Premier League (EPL).

However, the atmosphere is somewhat sagging and will head to the U.S. in June. This is because the team had only one draw and one loss in two consecutive warm-up matches against Uruguay and Japan held at Wembley in London last month. In particular, he suffered a shock loss of 0-1 against Japan, causing an interception in his pride as a World Cup favorite. It was also the first defeat against an Asian team in the history of English football.

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*This content was translated by AI.