Kane seals England’s lacklustre win over New Zealand in Florida

After a winless March international break (D1, L1) where they promised much but delivered little, England appeared determined to launch their World Cup preparations on a positive note in Florida.

The Three Lions dominated possession during a one-sided opening 20 minutes. Ollie Watkins dragged a low effort wastefully wide of the target, and then Max Crocombe parried away a speculative strike from distance by Kane.

Anxious to avoid a repeat of their 4-0 defeat to Haiti on Wednesday, New Zealand sought a breakthrough themselves. Matthew Garbett’s curled effort was smartly saved by Jordan Pickford.

Despite that chance, England remained on the front foot. After Kane was denied from point-blank range by Crocombe, the Bayern Munich striker finally breached the All Whites’ defence in first half stoppage time, glancing a header into the bottom corner from Djed Spence’s inviting delivery.

Tuchel made 11 changes at the break, including an international debut for 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha and a first cap in 12 months for Al-Ahli forward Ivan Toney.

Despite the flurry of substitutions, England nearly doubled their lead in the 49th minute when Dan Burn directed a header agonisingly against the post from eight yards.

That remained the Three Lions’ best opportunity of the second period as time headed into the final quarter-hour, with the New Zealand rearguard holding firm under pressure.

Jude Bellingham threatened a late second for England when he fired over from a promising position in the box, but Tuchel’s men were ultimately forced to settle for a one-goal victory, as they turn their attention to their final World Cup warm-up game against Costa Rica.

As for New Zealand, who sit 85th in FIFA’s world rankings, they’ll be encouraged by a vastly improved display ahead of their tournament opener against Iran on June 16.