England to play New Zealand and Costa Rica in final pre-World Cup friendlies

England will face New Zealand on 6 June and Costa Rica four days later in Florida, then base themselves at the Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City for the World Cup.

England will play warm-up matches against New Zealand and Costa Rica in Florida at the start of June and will base themselves at the Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City for the duration of the World Cup. Thomas Tuchel and his squad will fly to Florida to face New Zealand on 6 June and Costa Rica four days later. Tuchel could have players involved in the Champions League final in Budapest on 30 May and intends to travel to the US promptly to begin acclimatising. England's first group match at the tournament is on 17 June against Croatia in Arlington, Texas. Key details: - England will play New Zealand on 6 June and Costa Rica four days later in Florida. - The squad will base themselves at the Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City and will return there after each game. - The FA chose Kansas City for its central US location and the Swope Soccer Village training facilities. - Swope Soccer Village opened in 2007, hosts Sporting Kansas City’s academy teams, and has accommodated national and club sides. - New Zealand are ranked 85 and have qualified for the World Cup for the third time and first since 2010; they are captained by Chris Wood. - Costa Rica are ranked 51 and did not qualify for the finals; England also have friendlies at Wembley against Uruguay on 27 March and Japan on 31 March. Summary: The planned friendlies give England a short series of matches in Florida before they settle at their Kansas City base for tournament preparation. The squad will travel from Kansas City to their World Cup venues and return there after each game, with group fixtures beginning on 17 June against Croatia. Undetermined at this time.