England to play Nigeria and Costa Rica in World Cup warm-up games

England will face Nigeria and Costa Rica in their final World Cup warm-up games in June before heading to Russia.

Gareth Southgate’s side will play Nigeria at Wembley Stadium on Saturday June 2 and then travel north where they will host Costa Rica at Elland Road, Leeds United’s ground, on Thursday June 7.

England will base themselves at the National Football Centre at St George’s Park for their preparations. They do not play their first World Cup Group G game, against Tunisia in Volgograd, until Monday June 18 so are likely to head to their training camp outside St Petersburg later than other nations for the finals.

Costa Rica, who like Nigeria will also be at the finals, have been selected by Southgate because England face another central American side, Panama, who are playing in their first World Cup, in Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday June 24.

Costa Rica won England's group at Brazil 2014, being held to a 0-0 draw by Roy Hodgson's team in Belo Horizonte in the final ‘dead rubber’ tie after England had already been knocked out, before suffering a penalty shoot-out elimination against Holland in the quarter-finals.

England have not faced Nigeria since the 2002 World Cup when, again, there was a goalless draw in another final group game although, that time, England qualified for the knock-out stages as group runners-up.

England’s final World Cup group game is against Belgium and Southgate already has two friendlies coming up against European opponents – Holland in Amsterdam on March 27 before facing Italy at Wembley four days later. Neither Holland nor Italy qualified for the World Cup.

Southgate had initially planned for three games in June prior to the squad's departure for Russia, but he has now settled on two fixtures. His preparations will not be finalised until he knows whether an English club side has reached either the Champions League final in Kiev on Sat May 26.

There are five Premier League teams still involved while it has been agreed that coaches can name a larger than usual provisional squad for the World Cup.

England, meanwhile, will discover their opponents in the inaugural Uefa Nations League when the draw is made for the tournament in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Jan 24.