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

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

From the opening minute, the British side imposed itself and controlled possession as well as the tempo of the match. The Oceanian team’s attempts were based on long balls forward, looking for Chris Wood to battle with the English defenders.

The first clear chance of the match came for 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, wary 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 passivity and ventured forward through a good move by Matthew Garbett, who drove at goal, cut inside past Marc Guéhi and hit a curling shot with the inside of his foot, forcing Jordan Pickford into a great save to the side.

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 burst down the wing by the Barcelona wide man ended in a dangerous cross for Kane, who won the header and saw the goalkeeper turn it behind for a corner.

In the final action of the first half, England found the goal. Djed Spence appeared down the left, sent 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 play and confirmed the decision.

The names changed for England, but the rhythm of the match remained the same, with the ‘Three Lions’ dominating through patient possession, moving the ball around and without pushing too hard. Rio Ngumoha, Liverpool’s 17-year-old youngster, showed a few flashes of his dribbling ability and natural talent, but without making an impact in front of goal.

Little happened before the final whistle, with both teams comfortable with the result and looking to arrive at the start of the World Cup in the best possible shape.

Next Wednesday, June 10, England will face Costa Rica in its final warm-up friendly ahead of its World Cup debut against Croatia on June 17 in Dallas. New Zealand, meanwhile, will make its debut 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.