England to play Nigeria and Costa Rica ahead of 2018 World Cup

England have confirmed they will be playing friendly matches against Nigeria and Costa Rica as part of their preparations for the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia.

Gareth Southgate’s side will face Nigeria at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, 2 June, before taking on Costa Rica at Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium five days later.

With Tunisia and Panama among the World Cup group G opponents, the Nigeria and Costa Rica games will be a vital opportunity for Southgate to try tactics against non-European sides.

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The England boss told the BBC: “We’re going into a World Cup where we will play African and Central American opposition, so we get that with the games against Nigeria and Costa Rica, but it’s not just about the games we’ve got in the group but hopefully beyond that as well.

“We want to expose the team to different styles and different experiences.”

Playing at Elland Road will also give fans in other parts of the country the chance to see the team before they depart for Russia. Southgate says he’s excited to be taking the team “on the road” again.

He said: “All of the feedback from the team before Euro 2016 was really positive, the players enjoyed it and it was definitely well received by the public. It’s nice when we have an opportunity to take the team on the road.”

Before the June friendlies, England will also travel to Holland on 23 March and face Italy on 27 March at Wembley. The Three Lions’s first game in Russia will be against Tunisia on 18 June.

England football team fixtures

World Cup warm-up matches

• 23 March: vs. Holland at Johan Cruyff Arena (7.45pm)
• 27 March: vs. Italy at Wembley (8pm)
• 2 June: vs. Nigeria at Wembley (5.15pm)
• 7 June: vs. Costa Rica at Elland Road (8pm)

England’s 2018 Fifa World Cup group G fixtures

• 18 June: vs. Tunisia (7pm)
• 24 June: vs. Panama (1pm)
• 28 June: vs. Belgium (7pm)