England tiptoed past Tim Payne's New Zealand, 1-0 | OneFootball

England beat New Zealand 1-0 at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, June 6, in an international friendly as preparation for the 2026 World Cup.

From the opening minute, the British side set the tone and dominated possession and the tempo of the match. The Oceanian team’s attempts were based on long balls aimed at Chris Wood so he could battle with the English defenders.

The first clear chance of the match fell to the ‘Three Lions’ when a long ball found Ollie Watkins one-on-one with a defender, but his angled shot was poor and went wide.

Later, Harry Kane tried his luck from long range with plenty of power, forcing a good save from goalkeeper Max Crocombe.

The pace of the game was fairly calm, with the players carefully managing their workload, fearful of a possible injury just days before the start of the World Cup, in addition to Florida’s humid heat, with temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius.

In the 26th minute, New Zealand took advantage of England’s passiveness and dared to attack directly through a good move by Matthew Garbett, who drove forward, cut inside against Marc Guéhi, and hit a curling shot with the inside of his foot, prompting a great save from Jordan Pickford to push it aside.

The World Cup’s viral player, Tim Payne, had a very difficult duel in the first half against Marcus Rashford, and in the 33rd minute a run down the flank by the Barcelona winger ended in a dangerous cross for Kane, who won the header and forced the goalkeeper to send it out for a corner.

England’s goal came in the final action of the first half. Djed Spence appeared on the left flank and delivered a dangerous cross into the box that Harry Kane glanced with his head to place the ball in off the post and open the scoring.

England changed the entire team for the second half

Tuchel opted for 11 changes for the second half, completely overhauling the lineup. Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham, Reece James and others came on.

In the 49th minute, the towering Dan Burn rose highest and his header brushed the post of Crocombe’s goal, nearly making it 2-0.

In the 58th minute, there was a controversial moment. Garbett ran into Ivan Toney in the box and referee Natalie Simon awarded a penalty, but the play was ruled out for offside. VAR then reviewed the incident and confirmed the decision.

The names changed for England, but the rhythm of the match remained the same, with the ‘Three Lions’ controlling the game through patient possession, moving the ball around and not pushing too hard. Rio Ngumoha, Liverpool’s 17-year-old prospect, showed flashes of his dribbling ability and natural talent, but without making an impact in front of goal.

Little happened until the end of the match, with both teams comfortable with the result and hoping to arrive in the best possible shape for the start of the World Cup.

Next Wednesday, June 10, England will face Costa Rica in their final warm-up friendly ahead of their World Cup debut against Croatia on June 17 in Dallas. Meanwhile, New Zealand will begin their campaign on Monday the 15th against Iran in California.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.