Key events<\/p>\n
Pre-match postbag II. \u201cFlorida weather unpredictable? You can set your watch by the storms this time of year\u201d \u2013 Jon Collins<\/p>\n
\u201cI recall leaving my exposed seat at Mexico v Ireland in 1994 and finding scores of sun-stricken Irish fans being treated in the inner concourse of the stadium. That match was played in Orlando at midday for European TV schedules. Fifa continues to be a Mickey Mouse organisation that can barely run a bath, but still want to bottle and sell the water when they do\u201d \u2013 Justin Kavanagh<\/p>\n
\u201cThat thunder delay took almost as long as a VAR review\u201d \u2013 Peter Oh<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Back to Orlando, where the sprinklers have been turned on at the Inter&Co Stadium. At England\u2019s request. I can\u2019t in all honesty explain why. Perhaps it\u2019s satire. Americans love a bit of English satire.<\/p>\n A futile gesture. Photograph: Terry Disney\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n You can also fill those empty moments back up to the brim with our comprehensive Player Guide. This priceless resource features every single player going to North America this summer, with potted bios written by experts from all around the world. Its homepage is linked below, plus some details of the guy who scored the last-minute winner that sent England<\/a> home in that aforementioned Bracketology fever dream. Anyway, give it a whirl, and we\u2019ll see you again just before full-time.<\/p>\n \u00c9dgar Yoel B\u00e1rcenas<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n There will most likely be a lot of this sort of hanging about during this World Cup<\/a>. Just as well, then, that the Guardian has created this marvellous monument to time-wasting: Bracketology, in which you can curate your very own World Cup story. Or you can simply hit \u201cshuffle\u201d and see whose name pops up as champion. I\u2019ve just done that, and can exclusively report that DR Congo beat Germany in the final. England didn\u2019t get out of their group, meanwhile. I\u2019d love to know what happened against Panama. Anyway, give it a go, and I\u2019ll see you back here in three hours. We\u2019ll wait for you.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Kick-off now 10pm BST, 5pm EDT<\/p>\n Kick-off has been confirmed for 5pm local time, subject to no further delays, reports David Hytner. That\u2019s 10pm BST.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.40 EDT<\/p>\n OBO MBM Postbag. \u201cThis MBM is taking on a reassuringly familiar \u2018we all know there\u2019ll be no play at Headingley today, just a matter of time before they call it\u2019 vibe. Is it uncouth to observe that it is, in the end, just a pre tournament kick about, not worth taking risks with a soggy pitch?\u201d \u2013 Tom Hopkins<\/p>\n \u201cSince the last match against New Zealand had worries about the pitch, and this one has a rain delay, perhaps Thomas Tuchel should ask for the English cricket captain to join the squad to pass on his experience. It\u2019s not as if he\u2019s got anything planned for the next week or two\u201d \u2013 Bob O\u2019Hara<\/p>\n \u201cWith the amount of surface water, having Rice on the pitch seems appropriate\u201d \u2013 Andy Gordon<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jude Bellingham gets the nod over Morgan Rogers in the number 10 role. Declan Rice is back in the midfield, having joined up with the squad late due to Arsenal\u2019s participation in the Champions League final. His club team-mate Noni Madueke gets the nod over fellow Gunner Bukayo Saka on the right.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>The teams<\/p>\n England: Pickford, Konsa, O\u2019Reilly, Stones, James, Rice, Anderson, Bellingham, Gordon, Madueke, Kane. Costa Rica: Sequeira, Johnson, Mitchell, Faerron, Araya, Salazar, Carlos Mora, Galo, Soto, Alcocer, Ugalde. Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.25 EDT<\/p>\n It\u2019s still raining in Orlando, though no longer a torrent, and it\u2019s also brightening up. However there\u2019s still that threat of thunder and lightning. Also to be taken into consideration is the state of the pitch: it should clear of standing water in time for kick-off, providing the rain doesn\u2019t get heavier again, but would Thomas Tuchel be happy to risk his players on it? Well, if it answers the latter question any, the team news has just dropped \u2026<\/p>\n Everything is going to be ok. Probably. Photograph: Eddie Keogh\/The FA\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.39 EDT<\/p>\n David Hytner reports that more lightning has been predicted by stadium staff long used to such delays. But Florida weather being what it is, all is not yet lost.<\/p>\n double quotation markIt seems that the safety protocols involve a 30-minute delay after the last lightning strike rather than 45 minutes. We are looking at a delay one way or another \u2013 and it looks like it will be more than 20 minutes; possibly one hour. We\u2019ve just been told by some of the organisers at the stadium that they are expecting more lightning. Disclaimer \u2013 the Florida weather is very unpredictable. At a little after 3pm local time, a small number of fans were allowed into the stands from the shelter of the concourses.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jacob Steinberg is also in situ. Presumably he and all of his electronic equipment are in better nick than the poor chap pictured below, because he\u2019s just managed to ping a message to tell you all that \u201cwe are hearing an hour delay\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.12 EDT<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a picture which further illustrates how damp it is in Orlando. Florida wasn\u2019t like this in the brochure.<\/p>\n Poor chap. A dictionary definition of bedraggled. Photograph: Bradley Collyer\/PAShare<\/a>Kick-off now 9.20pm BST, 4.20pm EDT<\/p>\n David Hytner reports from Orlando that the delay has just been announced as 20 minutes. The new kick-off time will be 4.20pm local, 9.20pm BST.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.58 EDT<\/p>\n Kick-off delayed<\/p>\n No big surprise here. The kick-off has been officially delayed due to the heavy thunderstorm in Orlando that has left the pitch at Inter&Co Stadium waterlogged. It\u2019s not yet been announced how long the delay will be \u2013 or indeed if the match will start at all. Expect more of this over the next month.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n More from David Hytner.<\/p>\n double quotation markI\u2019ve seen some rain storms in my time \u2013 one in Jakarta during an Arsenal pre-season tour springs to mind \u2013 but this one in Orlando is right up there. A colleague has just dashed 50 yards into our hotel from the car park and has had to get changed because he was utterly drenched. The game\u2019s announcers have just said that the ticket collection point for fans has been temporarily closed. They \u201chope to resume operations as soon as it is safe to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n The scene at the Inter&Co Stadium does not look promising. Photograph: Eddie Keogh\/The FA\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n \u2026 so yes, we hope kick-off will be as scheduled. But there\u2019s been some torrential rain in Orlando today, which might end up causing a delay. Here\u2019s an update from our man at the scene, David Hytner.<\/p>\n double quotation markAbsolutely torrential downpour here in Orlando \u2013 with a flash of lightning seen at 1.38pm local time, with the England game against Costa Rica due to kick-off at 4pm local time (9pm BST). According to the stadium\u2019s safety protocols, if \u201clightning is detected within eight miles, the referee can suspend the match with play resuming no earlier than 45 minutes after the last strike.\u201d It is due to clear up before kick-off so hopefully all will be fine \u2026 it\u2019s worth noting that if there is further lightning, the 45-minute clock would reset.<\/p>\n Chelsea fans may remember a similar situation unfolding at the Club World Cup<\/a> in North Carolina last year. Heavy-eyelidded MBM hacks certainly do.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n England have concluded their World Cup warm-up business against Costa Rica<\/a> before. That was in 2018, and after this \u2026<\/p>\n \u2026 they made it all the way to the semi-finals in Russia. Say what you like about omens and vibes: they might not materially help, but neither do they hinder. Let\u2019s just not talk about the other time the two countries met. Oh Mr Roy!<\/a> Kick-off in Orlando, Florida is at 9pm BST. It\u2019s on!<\/p>\n
Subs: D Henderson, Guehi, Saka, Rashford, Livramento, J Henderson, Burn, Mainoo, Rogers, Watkins, Eze, Toney, Spence, Quansah, Trafford.<\/p>\n
Subs: Bayron Mora, Madriz, Peraza, Ruiz, Nunez, Flores, Sinclair, Quiros, Rodriguez.<\/p>\n