England beat New Zealand in first World Cup warm-up game

Harry Kane's header gave England a 1-0 win over New Zealand in their first World Cup warm-up game 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 home Djed Spence's teasing cross from the left.

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

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First half XI: Pickford (6), Stones (6), Quansah (6), Guehi (7), Spence (8), J Henderson (7), Mainoo (7), Watkins (6), Rogers (6), Rashford (7), Kane (7).

Second half XI: Trafford (6), James (6), Konsa (6), Burn (6), Livramento (6), O'Reilly (6), Anderson (7), Bellingham (7), Ngumoha (7), Toney (6), Gordon (6).

England should have been further ahead by then having attempted 14 shots to New Zealand's two in the first period, but their finishing was wayward, with Ollie Watkins dragging a good chance wide and Marcus Rashford and John Stones also spurning opportunities.

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

As in the first half, though, they were unable to capitalise on their openings, despite a lively showing from Ngumoha and a couple of dangerous moments from Jude Bellingham.

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

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What's next?

England's last warm-up game before the World Cup comes against Costa Rica on Wednesday, kick-off 9pm.

The Three Lions then begin their tournament against Croatia in Arlington, Texas on June 17, kick-off 9pm.