Southgate sets up World Cup rehearsals

ENGLAND will face Nigeria and Costa Rica in their World Cup warm-up fixtures this summer. Manager Gareth Southgate has chosen the opposition with a view to preparing for their Group G matches against Tunisia and Panama in Russia. The clash against Nigeria will take place at Wembley on Saturday June 2 followed by Costa Rica at Elland Road five days later, the final fixture before the finals. Southgate said: ‘We’ve mostly played European opposition up to now and the Brazil game acted as a reminder that we need to challenge ourselves in different ways as a team. ‘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.’

Sportsmail revealed in October that Southgate would not take his squad on a pre-tournament training camp, instead choosing to prepare at St George’s Park. The clash against Costa Rica will be the first time that Leeds United’s ground has hosted an England game since the clash against Italy in March 2002. The Football Association are keen to take the England team to different cities before a tournament to nurture support ahead of the World Cup. Similarly, the national team played warm-up matches in Manchester, Sunderland and London before Euro 2016. Southgate said: ‘All of the feedback from the team before Euro 2016 was positive. The players enjoyed it and it was well received by the public. ‘We’re immensely proud to play the majority of matches at Wembley as our national stadium and it’s always special. Equally, it’s nice when we have an opportunity to take the team on the road.’ England also have friendlies against Holland in Amsterdam on March 23 and Italy at Wembley four days later.