England World Cup 2026 warm-up friendlies against New Zealand and Costa Rica finally confirmed

England supporters planning their trips to the World Cup can now make arrangements for the Three Lions' pre-tournament friendly matches against New Zealand and Costa Rica.

World Cup 2026 gets underway on Thursday, June 11 and England start their Group L campaign with a fixture against Croatia on Wednesday, June 17 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Fans heading for the United States to watch Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions have been waiting to find out where the team's pair of Florida friendlies would take place and can now finalise their travel itineraries for the first half of June.

England confirm World Cup 2026 warm-ups against New Zealand and Costa Rica

The FA revealed the cities and venues for England's Florida sojourn on Thursday, with the team set to play their first match of the summer against fellow World Cup 2026 participants New Zealand in Tampa Bay on Saturday, June 6.

"The Raymond James Stadium is home to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and hosted Super Bowl LV in 2021," said the FA. "It will stage England men’s third meeting with New Zealand, with the previous two matches with the All Whites both coming in June 1991."

England's second friendly will be played against Costa Rica in Orlando on Wednesday, June 10 – one week before their first World Cup match. Costa Rica missed out on qualification for World Cup 2026, with Haiti qualifying from their second CONCACAF group.

"The Inter&Co Stadium is home to both MLS side Orlando City and Orlando Pride of the NWSL," said England's governing body.

"The venue has previously hosted major football events including World Cup qualifiers, the She Believes Cup and the 2019 MLS All-Star Game.

"The Three Lions have faced Costa Rica on two previous occasions with the most recent being at Leeds United’s Elland Road ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup."

England will be based in the south of Florida ahead of World Cup 2026 before relocating to Kansas City, Missouri, for their tournament base.

England's second and third group stage World Cup fixtures will be played against Ghana at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and against Panama at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

MetLife will host the World Cup final on Sunday, July 19. England cannot return there between the group stage and the concluding match of the competition.

Both pre-tournament England friendlies will kick off at 4:00pm local time (9:00pm British Summer Time).