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

England play Costa Rica this evening at Elland Road in their last warm-up match before they head to Russia for the World Cup, and manager Gareth Southgate has promised that all six Yorkshiremen in his squad will get a run out in Leeds.

Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Fabian Delph and Jamie Vardy are the six 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.”

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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... 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