At Raymond James Stadium, Tampa: England 1 (Harry Kane 45’+2) All Whites 0. HT: 1-0
Better, from the All Whites, with the caveat that England were far from in top gear as they used a different XI in each half on their way to a 1-0 win in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday afternoon (Sunday NZ time).
World No 85 New Zealand were a minute away from being level with their fourth-ranked opponents at the break after a strong first-half showing, but afforded the opposing captain, Bayern Munich star Harry Kane, too much space in such a crucial moment, and he made them pay dearly at Raymond James Stadium.
Max Crocombe played 84 minutes in goal and looks to be coach Darren Bazeley’s man for the FIFA World Cup, after splitting the playing time evenly with Alex Paulsen in the 4-0 loss to Haiti in Fort Lauderdale on the other side of the Sunshine State earlier in the week – the first of two warm-up matches ahead of the tournament.
With the exception of second-half striker Ivan Toney from the Saudi Pro League, England’s squad consisted entirely of players from Europe’s three biggest domestic competitions – the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga.
