On June 10, England defeated Costa Rica 3-0 in a friendly match. After the match, England player Rice was interviewed.
Speaking about the match, Rice said: "I thought we played really well. The manager was keen on us to raise the tempo, raise the intensity on the ball, win it back, and I think everyone did brilliantly, including the players who came off the bench. It was a really good second-half performance. It's a good last game before everything really starts."
When asked about what the England team gained, he said: "I think we’ve adapted. You can see now that the heat isn’t an issue. I think the first week, ten days, was mainly about adapting to the hot weather. Playing with Gordon and O’Riley, we were talking all week about how we were going to play – how to rotate, how to be fluid. You could see that in the first half. Now as a collective, we are building confidence and fitness, and we have more training sessions before the first game. We will continue to improve, and that feels good."