Harry Kane’s 67th goal in club and international matches since the start of last season gave England victory over New Zealand in an international friendly at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium.
Captain Kane reached 79 goals for England and moved 26 clear of Wayne Rooney as his country’s all-time scorer with a deft flicked header from Djed Spence’s left-wing delivery during added time of an uneventful first half.
Dan Burn headed against a post shortly after half-time, having been introduced as one of 11 England substitutes at the interval.
Liverpool winger Rio Ngumoha also came on at the age of 17, becoming the youngest Three Lions debutant since Jude Bellingham, who was 155 days younger on his bow in November 2020.
England vs New Zealand analysis: Tuchel ‘sees bigger picture’
Concerns over the quality of the pitch awaiting England appeared to prove unfounded at the NFL stadium, where New Zealand put up more resistance than their status as the 75th-ranked team in the world might have suggested.
Millwall goalkeeper Max Crocombe turned an early Kane drive from distance early on, while Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood had a quiet game.
Former England left-back Stephen Warnock suggested head coach Thomas Tuchel “doesn’t care about the scoreline” against opponents who lost 4-0 to Haiti in a friendly on Wednesday.
‘The pitch was not great, and it made it hard to play the way we wanted to play’ 🏟️🗣️
Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham spoke to ITV’s @gabrielclarke05 after England beat New Zealand 1-0 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/z2YyTVJqDY
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 6, 2026
“It’s not the performance that many would have wanted,” Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live. “What he wants to see is that this England team is improving and understanding what he’s asking it to do.
“He won’t care about the pace of it, like everybody else – he’ll just think ‘as long as I prepare my team and we win that first game and get out of the group’.
“That’s all he’s bothered about. He sees the bigger picture.”
Harry Kane: England goal vs New Zealand ‘looked easy’
Former Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane praised Kane. “He’s in the form of his life, in great shape and he makes it look really, really easy,” Keane told ITV Football of the goal.
“There’s lots of pace on the ball and he’s a top striker getting into the right position, just needing to guide it into the corner. How many times have we said it about Kane? He is the man.
“It’s been a brilliant workout for England – they’ve had a couple of tests, had to do a bit of running and there’s a little bit of sharpness to come. It’s been a really good workout for them.”
World Cup 2026: England, New Zealand schedules
England face Costa Rica next in a friendly in Orlando on Wednesday (21:00 BST). Here’s how the first fixtures at the finals look for Tuchel’s team and New Zealand.
England team vs New Zealand
England made seven changes from their 1-0 home friendly defeat to Japan on March 31, with Jordan Pickford, Marc Guehi, Kobbie Mainoo and Morgan Rogers keeping their places.
John Stones, Jarell Quansah, Djed Spence, Jordan Henderson, Marcus Rashford, Ollie Watkins and Harry Kane came in.
Centre-back Stones missed much of his final season at Manchester City with issues, including a calf injury that kept the 32-year-old out until mid-April.
Midfielder Declan Rice and forwards Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke were rested after taking part in Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain the previous Saturday.
Right-back Ben White was recalled by England in March and started against Japan but will miss the finals with a serious knee injury.
Training squad members Alex Scott, Ngumoha, Josh King, Jason Steele and Ethan Nwaneri are not eligible to play at the World Cup but had been hoping to make their England debuts.
England starting XI: Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Jarell Quansah, Djed Spence, Jordan Henderson, Kobbie Mainoo, Morgan Rogers, Marcus Rashford, Ollie Watkins, Harry Kane
England substitutes: Dean Henderson, James Trafford, Ezri Konsa, Nico O’Reilly, Dan Burn, Tino Livramento, Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon, Ivan Toney, Reece James, Alex Scott, Josh King, Ethan Nwaneri, Rio Ngumoha
World Cup 2026 warm-up: New Zealand full line up vs England
Alex Paulsen, Tyler Bindon, Alex Rufer and Jesse Randall moved to the bench for New Zealand, who brought in Crocombe, Joe Bell, Michael Boxall and Matthew Garbett.
Record 45-goal scorer Wood started again, having returned from a severe knee injury for Nottingham Forest in April and played for 60 minutes against Haiti.
Influential right-back Tim Payne missed two months of the season with a broken collarbone and has had two minor hamstring issues since then.
Sarpreet Singh suffered a significant knee injury in February but has been deemed fit enough to join the squad, playing the first half against Haiti and starting here.
New Zealand starting XI: Max Crocombe, Tim Payne, Finn Surman, Michael Boxall, Liberato Cacace, Elijah Just, Joe Bell, Sarpreet Singh, Marko Stamenic, Matthew Garbett, Chris Wood
New Zealand substitutes: Alex Paulsen, Francis de Vries, Tyler Bindon, Alex Rufer, Nando Pijnaker, Kosta Barbarouses, Ben Waine, Ben Old, Callum McCowatt, Jesse Randall, Michael Woud, Callan Elliot, Lachlan Bayliss, Tommy Smith
England vs New Zealand stats
England had been at risk of going winless in their opening three fixtures of a calendar year for the first time since 2004 (D2 L1)
They have won each of their last 38 games against nations ranked 85th or lower in the rankings since a 1-0 loss in Northern Ireland in September 2005
This was England’s first game in the US since friendlies against Ecuador and Honduras in June 2014 before the World Cup in Brazil, drawing both fixtures at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium
The Three Lions’ only previous meetings with New Zealand came in the same week back in June 1991, winning 1-0 in Auckland and 2-0 in Wellington
Kane has 11 goals across his last 11 appearances for England and 10 in 10 appearances against non-European nations
This defeat was New Zealand’s ninth in their last 11 games in all competitions (W1 D1)
The All Whites had 14 shots to 13 against Haiti, though they posted an expected goals total of 1.0 to their opponents’ 2.4
Chris Wood scored nine goals for New Zealand in 2026 World Cup qualification, which is five more than any other player in the OFC confederation
Forest’s 2024/25 leading marksman scored more goals with his head (6) than any other player managed during the confederation campaign overall
New Zealand are winless in each of their last 17 matches against European opposition (D4 L13), since a 1-0 friendly victory over Serbia in Klagenfurt in May 2010
