Gordon and Bellingham to start, a horror miss and Kane the quarterback: What did we learn from England's win against Costa Rica

A delayed kick-off due to torrential downpours did not deter the Three Lions from producing a promising performance, with manager Thomas Tuchel naming a starting eleven which would not be too dissimilar to the one which will face Croatia next week. 

Arsenal's Declan Rice opened the scoring in the first half, before Anthony Gordon and Ollie Watkins added to England's tally in the second period. 

Compared to the drab 1-0 victory over New Zealand on Saturday, this England team were intense and looked ready to tackle whatever comes their way at the World Cup. 

Here is what we learned from England's performance and what it means for their World Cup campaign. 

Bellingham may have won battle against Rogers

One of the big debates heading into this World Cup is who will be England's number 10, Jude Bellingham or Morgan Rogers. 

Before these two warm-up matches, Rogers seemed a lock after Tuchel favoured the Aston Villa midfielder for much of his managerial tenure. 

However, Bellingham is fired up and has shown tenacity in his performances as he prepares for the tournament. 

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Against Costa Rica, Bellingham was everywhere, and in the second half, danced past a number of Costa Rica players to lay the ball off to Eberechi Eze who failed to score with his wayward strike. 

There was also the moment he comforted Noni Madueke in the first half after his horror miss, showing that Bellingham is stepping up as someone to maintain squad harmony. 

With these performances, maybe Bellingham has done enough to change Tuchel's mind and prefer him to start over Rogers come the Croatia game in Dallas. 

Gordon dazzles on left wing

Anthony Gordon may have forced himself into England's first-choice attacking trio after causing all sorts of problems on the left wing for England. 

Gordon, who recently made a big money move to Barcelona, was fast, direct and often found himself in a position to hit the byline and pull the ball back to his England teammates to create chances. 

The 25-year-old's desire to take on opponents and ability to create chances out of tight spaces make him a dangerous threat, and in a World Cup where conserving energy will be key in the intense heat, quick bursts from the likes of Gordon against tiring defenders could be crucial. 

Gordon was rewarded with a goal from the penalty spot in the second half to put England 2-0 ahead, and, going into the World Cup proper, he should be confident of being part of the Three Lions' starting eleven. 

Kane is England's quarterback

Captain Harry Kane once again proved that he is England's key player. 

He may not have scored against Costa Rica, but he was pulling the strings and played two standout through balls from midfield, which led to attacking chances. 

In the first half, after picking the ball up around the centre circle, Kane inched forward, saw Gordon's run from the left, and found him inside the Costa Rica box with a perfectly timed pass which led to a penalty claim. 

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At the start of the second half, Kane once again found one of England's wingers, this time from his own half, with a cross-field pass to Madueke. 

It may frustrate some fans to see Kane frequently drop into midfield and not lead England's line, but he is proving once again that he is thriving in a quarterback-like role for the Three Lions, which makes him a dual threat that very few teams will be able to cope with.

How will Madueke recover from horror miss

Madueke was the topic of discussion for all the wrong reasons against Costa Rica after he missed an open goal in the first half. 

With 35 minutes on the clock, Madueke was put through on goal by Bellingham and after getting around goalkeeper Patrick Sequeira, his shot hit the post instead of going in an empty net. 

Just days before a major tournament, this may affect Madueke's confidence if he finds himself in a similar situation during the World Cup, but it could also be of benefit by getting the mistakes out of the way early. 

Bellingham was quick to offer some encouragement after the miss, and with there seemingly being no obvious tensions with the squad, Madueke is likely to move on from this comical moment and focus on trying to secure his place on Tuchel's starting lineup against Croatia.

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