England’s final friendly before the World Cup has been delayed after torrential rain caused a waterlogged pitch at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
The Three Lions are set to take on Costa Rica on Wednesday night in a 9pm BST kick-off in their second friendly out in the States, after beating New Zealand 1-0 on Saturday.
It is set to be Thomas Tuchel’s final chance to look at his side in match action before they get their campaign under way on June 17 against Croatia, but the game is now in doubt.
In an empty stadium at around 7pm BST, a message was displayed on a big screen inside the stadium that read: ‘Lightning strikes. Please seek shelter.’
Other images from the ground showed the pitch waterlogged as officials rushed to get the game kicked off on time.
And, at 7:41pm BST, the FA confirmed the game had been delayed with a statement that read: ‘Today’s game against Costa Rica has been delayed due to weather conditions in Orlando.
England’s final World Cup warm-up match has been delayed due to torrential rain in Florida
England fans had started to make their way to the stadium as the rain continued to fall in Florida
‘We’ll provide further updates as soon as we have them.’
It is understood that the team have stayed at the hotel for now. The kick-off time in Florida is 4pm.
Groups of fans had started to make their way to the stadium, kitted out in England colours, but it remains unclear if they will see a game.
The storm has been set to continue for at least another hour. The type of weather is not uncommon in the area.
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