England Beat New Zealand 1-0 as Harry Kane Strikes in Florida

Harry Kane’s header was enough to give the Three Lions a 1-0 win over New Zealand in their first World Cup warm-up game in the Tampa, Florida, heat.

The two teams met at the Raymond James Stadium in a hot and humid encounter in front of 17,000 travelling supporters.

 

Kane’s solitary goal flicked past the keeper following a superb cross from Djed Spence.

 

Thomas Tuchel made eleven substitutes at half-time, with the German aiming to acclimatise his squad to the North American weather, which reached up to 32 degrees during Saturday’s game.

 

England would’ve been disappointed to just be 1-0 up at the interval after firing 14 shots at New Zealand’s goal, with the All Black managing just two.

 

Ollie Watkins, Marcus Rashford and John Stones all dragged chances wide in a first half that Tuchel’s side dominated.

 

The second half followed a similar pattern with England dominating the World Cup’s lowest-ranked side. Tuchel handed a senior England debut to teenage sensation Rio Ngumoha, who is one of four young players to have joined the squad for their tournament preparations but will not be involved once the World Cup begins.

 

Despite lively cameos from Jude Bellingham and Ngumoha, England couldn’t find the net in the second half and had to settle for a 1-0 win, ten days before they kick off at the World Cup.

 

Despite not adding to their one-goal lead, it was a successful outing for England, who avoided injuries on the patchy playing surface and gained invaluable exposure to the conditions.

 

The game also allowed Kane to show his scoring touch. His headed strike was his 79th for England and follows a stunning 61-goal campaign with Bayern Munich at club level.

 

England’s next warm-up game is against Costa Rica on Wednesday before their tournament opener against Croatia on June 17.