England 1-0 New Zealand: Kane off the mark in penultimate warm-up game | OneFootball

England captain Harry Kane scored an incredible 67th goal in all competitions this season as the Three Lions eased their way to a 1-0 win over New Zealand in a low-key friendly in Florida.

The Bayern Munich striker netted the only goal of the game with a flicked header into the net from an accurate Djed Spence cross, in one of few chances in a dominant first half showing.

Ivan Toney was awarded a penalty following a foul only for the offside flag to raise in the second half, as Marcus Rashford and Rio Ngumoha looked lively in the penultimate game before England’s World Cup opener against Croatia next Wednesday.

As it happened

Before the friendly, images of the rugged ‘plug and play’ pitch at the Raymond James stadium surfaced online and raised concerns over whether it was a suitable surface for the players.

Although Thomas Tuchel echoed the worry in his press conference, New Zealand manager Darren Bazeley had the opinion that it was fine after training on the surface in the lead-up.

England dominated the early stages of the game in possession and should’ve seen themselves take the lead eight minutes in from a Marcus Rashford corner after John Stones’ free header was straight into Chris Wood before New Zealand cleared the danger.

Despite soaking up pressure, an opportunity presented itself for New Zealand, who worked a long ball to Wood, then held it up to release left-winger Matthew Garbett, but there was no one in the box to tap in his inviting cross.

Elijah Just claimed the ball down the left, who found Singh in the box, but he sliced his shot wide.

A couple of minutes later, Jordan Henderson played a brilliant pass over the top to Ollie Watkins, who galloped towards goal, but his shot was one to forget as he dragged it wide with his right foot. The Three Lions persisted with Kane’s powerful shot from far which was palmed away by Crocombe.

England came close again after Rashford who found an opening to shoot on his right, only for Surman to make a crucial block to deny the Barcelona loanee.

Despite Garbett tesing Pickford with a curling shot, it was Rashford who was extremely lively. He created a fantastic chance for Kane after some skilful play down the left, but Crocombe was there again to deny England’s star striker.

Thomas Tuchel’s side eventually broke the deadlock from none other than the England captain.

Djed Spence carried the ball down the left before checking back and whipping an angled ball into the box right to England’s striker, who flicked the ball on into the far corner.

England made 11 changes going into the second half yet their attacking intent persisted, as the post denied Dan Burn his first England goal from a set piece.

A lengthy penalty check occurred due to Ivan Toney being pushed in the box by Garbett, but the 30-year-old striker was offside in the build-up, so the on-field decision was chalked off.

Both teams went through the motions in a lacklustre half of football, but the England head coach will be satisfied with a win against the lowest-ranked nation (85th) at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

For New Zealand, losing just by a goal is respectable as their defensive display can be an attribute to build on ahead taking part in a testing group that also contains Iran, Egypt, and Belgium.

England kick start their World Cup tournament against Croatia on Wednesday the 15th of June, while New Zealand face Iran in their opener at 03:00 (GMT) the following day.