How Three Lions struggled to shine against World Cup’s lowest-ranked side | OneFootball

England got the job done in their first World Cup warm-up game as Harry Kane’s 67th goal in all competitions claimed a 1-0 win over New Zealand, but their fans were likely expecting a bigger winning margin.

While he Three Lions aren’t the only top team to have struggled in such fixtures, with Spain drawing 1-1 with Iraq and 2022 finalists France losing to the Ivory Coast, but the Oceanians are the lowest-ranked team in the tournament.

World Cup debutants Haiti put four past Darren Bazeley’s outfit, after all, likely leaving many England fans curious as to why their team couldn’t muster the same kind of performance as they laboured to just the one goal.

Of course, this was only ever intended as a training match designed to give players 45 minutes each and help them adjust to the brutal North American heat, but Tuchel’s side ultimately failed to truly rock the boat.

FromTheSpot analyses what we learned from yesterday’s performance, and whether England fans should be concerned in any way about the performance.

What role did the heat play?

It is tempting to blame yesterday’s uninspired display on the weather conditions, and not without cause. Tampa, in Florida, is one of this year’s hottest World Cup cities, and temperatures reached 33 degrees Celsius during the match.

Indeed, such was the blazing heat that England slowed down noticeably after the opening 20 minutes of up-tempo pressing. But if Tuchel’s squad are to end 60 years of hurt this summer then they will need to acclimatise quickly.

The lack of cutting edge and defensive solidity that emerged at times is nothing new, and blaming the weather will get the Three Lions no where should both issues reappear against Croatia on the 17th of June.

Mixed fortunes up front as Rashford, Gordon and Ngumoha all impress

One encouraging sign was Marcus Rashford, who had embarked on a solo training camp in America before the arrival of his teammates and was a constant thorn in the side of the New Zealand defence in the first half.

The Manchester United man, who managed 25 goal contributions on loan at Barcelona to win La Liga, completed five key passes as he proved a menace down the right flank.

His second half replacement Anthony Gordon also shone despite a lack of end product as he completed six progressive carries, while Rio Ngumoha, who came on for Ollie Watkins, completed three dribbles in a lively display.

But that is where the positives start to dry up. Save for a single intercepted cross in the first half, the aforementioned Watkins was largely anonymous, albeit playing on the wing and out of his usual striker position.

Morgan Rogers looked somewhat short of the player who excelled for Villa this season, at a time where his place in the starting line up is still far from guaranteed.

Ivan Toney had a quite afternoon aside from a miskicked strike late on, and did little to inspire confidence as a back up to Kane, who himself toiled had just 26 touches in the first half despite being one of the standout performers.

So toothless was England’s performance that they managed just two shots on target out of 23 in total, including Kane’s goal.

Defensive frailties exposed in first half

Thankfully Tuchel’s changes gradually established control as the first half wore on, but at times in that opening 45 it looked as if New Zealand would rattle the Three Lions with a shock opener.

Jordan Pickford had to be alert to deal with a fizzing Matthew Garbett effort, and Sarpreet Singh also had an effort which he turned wide.

The England backline often looked vulnerable as defence and midfield alike failed to close down the All Whites. John Stones, who played less than 500 minutes for Manchester City last season, was clearly lacking fitness and didn’t appear ready to partner Marc Guéhi or Ezri Konsa in defence.

One positive, however, was Tottenham left-back Djed Spence creating the only big chance of the first period with his delicious delivery for Kane to head home, and combined well with Rashford before being substituted at half time.

After having his selection questioned following an inconsistent season at Spurs, the ex-Nottingham Forest defender has laid down a real marker ahead of the tournament proper next week.

Midfield woes as Three Lions toil without Rice

Unfortunately for England, the story doesn’t get much better in midfield. With no Declan Rice starting, and Adam Wharton not even on the plane, the Three Lions lacked creativity and dynamism in the centre of the park.

Henderson performed reasonably well with a 98% pass success rate, but just two of his 48 completed passes found the opposition penalty area and he can hardly be expected to be a regular starter at his age.

Kobie Mainoo once again struggled to transfer his Manchester United form to the famous white shirt, with the argument for limiting his minutes once the tournament starts not yet completely dispelled.

Elliot Anderson and Nico O’Reilly, on as second half substitutes, looked uncertain at times, but both are new to the setup and will surely prove their worth when the real action begins.

Jude Bellingham, though, has no such excuse. Long seen as one of England’s great hopes, had just two efforts at goal and didn’t go close to finding a goal to put the game to bed.