England Edges Out New Zealand 1-0: Three Lions Begin American Journey with a Victory Amidst Sky-High Prices for Fans

IN THE first ever England match played in front of a pirate ship, Thomas Tuchel and his squad started their North American adventure.

The hope, naturally, is they will not sink without trace.

England beat New Zealand thanks to a Harry Kane goal in Tampa, Florida Credit: PA Harry Kane celebrates his goal in first-half injury time Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The Bayern Munich striker headed in Djed Spence’s cross Credit: Getty

The last time England prepared for a World Cup in Florida – ahead of the 2014 tournament in Brazil – Roy Hodgson’s hopeless mob finished bottom of their group.

The national team is certainly a different beast these days, mainly because they have a phenomenal striker in captain Harry Kane who grabbed goal number 79 for the Three Lions to move into the all-time top 10 of international scorers.

There will be some proper battles ahead – much harder than New Zealand who ran out of fizz – before we can even start to think about the World Cup final in New Jersey on July 19.

Tuchel fielded two teams of 11 players in each half and it was all a bit disjointed, as you would expect.

There was a senior international debut for Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha in the second half while Jude Bellingham took over the captaincy after Kane’s exit.

The temperature was 32C, which is something the players will have to get used to, although Tuchel was absolutely right not to give any of his players long run-outs.

Equally, the thousands of England fans who travelled here – and they dominated the near-26,000 crowd – got an early taste of following sport over here.

Fans had to fork out £12.55 for a pint of beer while just a bottle of water was £5.52 and any supporters that last the duration with the England team is going to return home hopelessly skint.

The game was played at the Raymond James Stadium, home of NFL team Tampa Bay Buccaneers owned by a certain family with links to Manchester United.

Indeed, any United fans inside the stadium probably felt like vomiting when they saw Malcolm Glazer’s name featuring in large letters in the stands.

The pitch was newly-laid and while it did not look great, it was still playable.

Equally, England’s players will need to adjust to surfaces at the World Cup which will be nothing like the incredible conditions they enjoy each week in the Premier League.

Yet it does not matter what the conditions are like, you know that the England captain is a danger.

His goal, right at the end of the first half, was classic Kane as he got between a couple of defenders to produce a perfect glancing header from Djed Spence’s cross.

The Tottenham full-back is lucky to be at the World Cup due to a poor season but he did well enough getting forward even though some of his defensive work was a bit ropey.

Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson both impressed in the opening 45 minutes.

For John Stones, this was only his sixth game of 2026 with the second half of the season ruined by calf injury so he badly needs some game time.#

Stones saw a header blocked from Rashford’s corner but he should have done better while Ollie Watkins’, who played wide right and failed to totally convince, also produced a poor finish when in a good position.

Morgan Rogers, who also failed to really make a mark in the first half, delivered a wild finish while Kane’s first shot on target was pushed away by keeper Max Crocombe.

After the opening drinks break, Jordan Pickford had his first shot to deal withand got down low to push away a shot from Peterborough’s Matt Garbett.

Kobbie Mainoo wasted a decent chance and a Kane header was tipped over by the Kiwi keeper but the Bayern Munich striker’s next chance was superbly-taken.

Ollie Watkins started the game up front alongside Harry Kane Credit: PA New Zealand and Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood competes for a header with John Stones Credit: Getty There were concerns over the playing surface for Saturday’s game Credit: Getty England manager Thomas Tuchel changed the entire XI at half-time Credit: Alamy Liverpool teen Rio Ngumoha made his England debut Credit: Getty

After scoring 61 times for his club this season, Kane has never looked sharper.

As for the mass changes in the second half, the most notable was the decision to play Nico O’Reilly – expected to start the World Cup as left-back – alongside Elliot Anderson in central midfield.

Bellingham, who took the armband as the most experienced player, was busy enough. Ivan Toney, who was a surprise call-up to the squad, thought he had won a penalty but was then flagged offside.

England will certainly face tougher tests than New Zealand, who are 79 in the FIFA rankings, but at least they were sensible and avoided kicking lumps out of England’s players, something we have seen in the past.

England flew back to their West Palm Beach hotel directly after the game and they will be back in training on Sunday, along with the Arsenal quartet of Eberechi Eze, Declan Rice, Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka.

England will then face Costa Rica in Orlando on Wednesday and then fourth-tier Miami United on either Thursday or Friday before flying to Kansas.

And then the countdown to the opening game against Croatia in Dallas on June 19 will truly begin.

The game was played at Raymond James Stadium – the home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers Credit: PA England fans enjoyed the Florida sunshine as they watched the game Credit: PA England will next face Costa Rica on Wednesday in Orlando Credit: Getty