England's Trent Alexander-Arnold during the International Friendly match at Elland Road, Leeds

Trent Alexander-Arnold debuts & Jordan Henderson starts as England beat Costa Rica

Trent Alexander-Arnold made his debut and Jordan Henderson also started as England ran out 2-0 winners over Costa Rica on Thursday night.

The start of the 2018 World Cup is now a week away, with the Three Lions hoping to improve on some dismal recent major tournament performances.

Gareth Southgate’s side took on Costa Rica at Elland Road, in their final warm-up game before the squad flies out to Russia.

Named in the starting lineup were Alexander-Arnold and Henderson, with the former handed his first-ever cap for his country.

Alexander-Arnold was heavily involved, providing England width in their 3-5-2 system in a match they dominated from the start.

Notably, the teenager was also on set-piece duty despite it being his debut, whipping in corners from the right and free-kicks from the left.

Marcus Rashford opened the scoring with a tremendous long-range strike into the top corner, beating Keylor Navas in goal for Costa Rica.

It was largely a quiet night for Henderson at the base of the England midfield trio, but he sparked into life briefly just after half-time.

Picture by: Tim Goode / PA Wire/Press Association Images England's Jordan Henderson during the International Friendly at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland.

Indeed, in the space of a minute, both Liverpool players went close to contributing to the scoreline.

Firstly Henderson’s great pass from deep opened a chance for England, with the Reds skipper latching onto the end of the move and smashing in a shot which Navas saved.

From the corner, Alexander-Arnold found Harry Maguire in the six-yard box, but his header was cleared off the line.

Both Reds played slightly over an hour before being substituted, with Danny Welbeck heading in a second from close range late on.

Adam Lallana remained unused, only on standby with the England squad as they prepare to head to Russia on the back of two friendly victories.

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