England 1-0 New Zealand

Harry Kane’s header gave England a 1-0 win over New Zealand in their first World Cup warm-up match in Tampa, Florida.

In a low-key encounter in hot and humid conditions at the Raymond James Stadium, Kane scored the decisive goal in first-half stoppage time when he flicked on DZ Spence’s teasing cross from the left.

With temperatures of 32 degrees Celsius in the afternoon heat, Thomas Tuchel used the fixture to acclimatise his squad to the weather and changed his entire team at the break.

England should have been further ahead with 14 shot attempts to New Zealand’s two in the first period, but their finishing was wayward, with Ollie Watkins pulling away a good chance and Marcus Rashford and John Stones also wasting chances.

England continued to dominate in the second half against the World Cup’s lowest-ranked side, with Tuchel giving Liverpool’s 17-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha a debut, one of four young players who have joined the squad for their tournament preparations.

As in the first half, though, they couldn’t capitalize on their opening despite a spirited display from Ngumoha and a few dangerous moments from Jude Bellingham.

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

The game allowed Kane to show off his scoring touch. It was his 79th strike for England and followed a stunning, 61-goal campaign with Bayern Munich at club level.

England’s next warm-up match is against Costa Rica on Wednesday.

Keane: Keane must be England’s leading man

Sky Sports pounds Roy Kin After the game Kane was backed as England’s main man in the tournament.

“If England really believe they can win the World Cup, and they do, Harry Kane is the main man,” he said. ITV.

“Stress comes with it and can sometimes be exhausting.

“He learned a lot playing for Bayern, but with his experience he doesn’t need to be back in his own half, especially in the summer.

“He’s the best in the world at the moment, and he’s the main man if England want to win trophies.”

Ken: I’m in the best form of my career

why harry to say ITV: “Physically, mentally, this is the best shape I’ve been in in my career.

“We’re going into a tough environment, a tough tournament, but I’m excited for it.

“The World Cup is the biggest tournament and I can’t wait to get started.”

About the game, he added: “A good win. It’s not easy. We’re here for the heat, to prepare for it. The pitch wasn’t great to be honest. It was really difficult to play the way we want to play.

“But that’s why we came here, to adapt to it. We played against a team that had a good low block. In the end we could have scored a few more goals but we took the win and we know we came here for preparation more than the result.”

Tuchel: I liked the second half

Thomas Tuchel to say ITV: “I was happy with the second half. We had more hunger, hunger and desire in the second half but couldn’t score.

“We weren’t that disciplined and played according to our plan in the first half, which slowed down our game.

“But to put it into context, a lot of players were last with us in November and missed the camp last March.

“We’ll have time to get used to the humidity and the sun.

“The most positive thing now is to keep training with the whole team. We have no complaints and no one is injured.

“Tomorrow will be a recovery day, then Costa Rica where part of the players will get more minutes.

“The Arsenal players give us quality and energy and after that game we have a day and a half off and get ready for Croatia.”

What next?

England’s final warm-up match before the World Cup is against Costa Rica on Wednesday, kick-off at 9pm.

The Three Lions then open their tournament against Croatia in Arlington, Texas on June 17, kick-off at 9 p.m.