England vs New Zealand LIVE
Harry Kane scored the only goal as England laboured to victory over New Zealand in their first of two World Cup warm-up friendlies. Thomas Tuchel named a somewhat experimental side from the off, who started well but soon wilted under the oppressive Floridian sun.
It was something of a surprise to see Kane nod Djed Spence’s cross home on the stroke of half-time to score what would prove to be the winner, after an England devoid of energy struggled to create in the dying embers of the first period. Tuchel made 11 changes at half-time, handing a senior England debut to Rio Ngumoha and also introducing the likes of Reece James, Ivan Toney, Jude Bellingham and Elliott Anderson, but despite their best efforts, the Three Lions could not increase their advantage.
England return to friendly action on Wednesday, facing Costa Rica in what will be their final pre-tournament outing. Catch up with the action from Tampa as it happened below with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog, complete with expert insight and analysis from Oli Gent.
England vs New Zealand latest updates
- GOAL! Kane nets the opener
PLAYER RATINGS
22:59 , Arthur Ferridge
Oli Gent has passed judgment over the England squads after a narrow win over New Zealand.
FULL-TIME: England 1-0 New Zealand
22:57 , Arthur Ferridge
That does it!
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:56 , Arthur Ferridge
90+3mins: Into the final minute now.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:55 , Arthur Ferridge
90+2mins: James puts one on a plate for Toney, but he knocks it wide. He was well offside anyway.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:55 , Arthur Ferridge
90+2mins: Uh-oh - the dreadead friendly injury strikes. Konsa seems to have picked up a knock, but he is fine to continue. Let’s hope that isn’t anything sinister!
Oli Gent reports
22:54 , Arthur Ferridge
A superb double drag-back from Ngumoha to spark up the dying embers here. He is going to be a real favourite for England fans in years to come.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:53 , Arthur Ferridge
There will be four added minutes here.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:50 , Arthur Ferridge
87mins: Gordon hares down the left flank again and fires a curling effort at the New Zealand goal, where Crocombe has just been substituted out, but his replacement makes a routine stop.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:45 , Arthur Ferridge
82mins: Bellingham uses some fancy footwork to find space on the edge of the area, but his shot is dreadful. England’s finishing has been woeful today.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:43 , Arthur Ferridge
80mins: New Zealand’s turn to take a corner, but a foul in the six-yard box sees the play blown dead. Pickford takes the free-kick quickly, but there isn’t much urgency from his outfielders to attack.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:41 , Arthur Ferridge
77mins: Dan Burn finds himself in space after another James corner, but his header is not quite as threatening as he might like. It goes wide via a deflection, and the follow-up corner is taken short. It finds its way to Ngumoha, who overcooks his cross to Toney.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:37 , Arthur Ferridge
74mins: A bit of a kerfuffle from England there. Gordon runs into his marker but bundles his way through and plays a square pass into the box which seems on track for O’Reilly to smash into the net, but Toney picks it off his feet and the chance comes to nothing.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:34 , Arthur Ferridge
71mins: After the second-half drinks break, we are back underway. Can Tuchel produce some goals with these tactical tweaks?
Oli Gent reports
22:33 , Arthur Ferridge
Reece James is such a joy to watch when he's in full flow. Has the intelligence to know when to step in and invert to create overloads in central areas, and when to keep the width and act as a bounce-board to keep patterns moving. A real step-up from Quansah in the first period.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:31 , Arthur Ferridge
68mins: England are really dominating proceedings here - New Zealand can’t get anywhere near the ball.
They can’t get too near the goal, though, and Anderson lets fly from range, with his shot meeting the arm of a team-mate.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:28 , Arthur Ferridge
65mins: Crocombe is quick off his line to weep up Ngumoha’s through-ball for Ivan Toney, which was marginally over-hit.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:26 , Arthur Ferridge
63mins: Bellingham tracks back at full steam and catches Staminic in a 50/50, with the latter seeming to have come off worse. He requires treatment.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:25 , Arthur Ferridge
62mins: And on we go. VAR clear the incident - no penalty.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:24 , Arthur Ferridge
With the VAR check ongoing, New Zealand make a raft of changes.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:24 , Arthur Ferridge
But wait! VAR is checking for a potential penalty...
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:23 , Arthur Ferridge
60mins: Toney goes down in the box and the referee points to the spot... but there will be NO PENALTY! The flag is up and the Al-Ahli striker was deemed offside.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:21 , Arthur Ferridge
58mins: James smashes his free-kick into the wall. Poor from the Chelsea captain.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:21 , Arthur Ferridge
58mins: Toney positions himself well and does well to win England a free-kick just on the edge of the penalty area.
Reece James standing over it...
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:19 , Arthur Ferridge
56mins: James whips a deep free-kick into the penalty area but a New Zealand defender hit the deck and wins his side a free-kick.
Oli Gent reports
22:18 , Arthur Ferridge
A bit more verve and thrust from this second England XI in these early second-half exchanges. Livramento is certainly showing some desire to get forward down the left. and Ngumoha is hoping to make an impression with some tricky dribbling off the right.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:16 , Arthur Ferridge
54mins: Gordon is seeing a lot of the ball and cuts in off the left flank, but his effort is blocked. It falls to Ngumoha who cannot find a way through.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:14 , Arthur Ferridge
52mins: Gordon gets free on the left flank and rolls a low cross into the area for Toney, but it is just behind his striker and the chance goes begging.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:13 , Arthur Ferridge
50mins: James delivers the corner and Burn gets his head on it after a rebound, but misses narrowly wide of the right post. In fact, I think he hit the woodwork!
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:11 , Arthur Ferridge
48mins: Ngumoha is playing off the right here, with Gordon, newly of Barcelona, off the left. The latter wins a corner from Payne.
Oli Gent reports
22:10 , Arthur Ferridge
More tinkering from Tuchel, making a real statement with his second XI and highlighting his selections' versatility. That is especially the case with Tino Livramento, fielded at left-back, while Nico O'Reilly, who has starred for Manchester City as a left-sided full-back this term, is in the engine room alongside Elliot Anderson.
England 1-0 New Zealand
22:09 , Arthur Ferridge
So, seems that will be Livramento at left-back and O’Reilly in midfield, which is an interesting call from Tuchel.
All eyes on Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha, who is making his senior England debut.
2ND HALF: England 1-0 New Zealand
22:08 , Arthur Ferridge
We are back underway, and Tuchel has indeed made 11 substitutions.
England second half XI: Trafford, James, Burn, Konsa, O’Reilly, Livramento, Anderson, Bellingham, Ngumoha, Toney, Gordon
Oli Gent reports
21:59 , Arthur Ferridge
You can't lie and say that that was the greatest 45 minutes ever played, but England are ahead, and that's all that matters. Did they play well? No, not really. Did they put together some fairly nice patterns of play? Erm, some. How was that as a first audition for those players? Not amazing by any means. Let's see what the second XI has in store...
First half in pictures
21:56 , Arthur Ferridge
Oli Gent reports
21:53 , Arthur Ferridge
There you go. Feed the Kane and he will score. It just goes to show the importance of getting crosses into the box, as Guehi feeds Spence in plenty of space on the left, and the skipper guides a delicate, flicked header into the far corner.
He's off the mark in this World Cup camp, and that will be a huge confidence-booster not just for him, but for his manager and England fans.
HALF-TIME: England 1-0 New Zealand
21:50 , Arthur Ferridge
And that takes us nicely into the half-time break.
GOAL! England 1-0 New Zealand | Kane '45+3
21:49 , Arthur Ferridge
Kane nods home Spence’s cross to break the deadlock on the stroke of half-time!
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:49 , Arthur Ferridge
45+2mins: Minimal action to speak of in this period of injury time. Sixty more seconds to play.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:47 , Arthur Ferridge
There will be three added minutes to end this first half.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:46 , Arthur Ferridge
45mins: Rashford sends a lobbed pass in search of Rogers, who is making a run into the box, but Crocombe is quick off his line to put the kibosh on the attack.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:43 , Arthur Ferridge
41mins: Rashford has another crack from the edge of the box and it is very well hit... but flashes wide of the mark. He’s looked England’s most likely contender here, and if they are going to score before the break, you’d put your money on him.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:42 , Arthur Ferridge
40mins: Rashford’s cross is over the head of Kane and Watkins in the six-yard box. He responds by wiping the sweat from his brow.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:39 , Arthur Ferridge
37mins: Not too long left for this first England XI to get a goal - there’s been a marked dip in energy since the opening, say, 15 minutes. This heat is absolutely sapping.
Oli Gent reports
21:38 , Arthur Ferridge
That's really good from Rashford, mixing up his game and looking to get to that left byline. He teases Payne with two flashes of skill before standing it up for Kane in the middle. We don't see enough of that from this England side, actually looking to feed their skipper in the box, where he specialises.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:36 , Arthur Ferridge
34mins: Big save from Crocombe! Rashford does very well to beat his man on the left flank with some twinkle-toed footwork and his cross finds Kane, whose header is tipped over by the Millwall ‘keeper.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:34 , Arthur Ferridge
Meanwhile, Scotland are soaring against Bolivia. They are now three to the good after Scott McTominay and Che Adams joined Lawrence Shankland on the scoresheet.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:34 , Arthur Ferridge
32mins: Pickford picks Watkins out with a lovely long ball. The Villa striker skins Cacace but Crocombe cuts out his low cross for Rashford.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:32 , Arthur Ferridge
30mins: That’s not far away! Spence makes a nice run into the box and finds Rogers, who in turn sets Mainoo, whose curling effort is just over the bar.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:31 , Arthur Ferridge
29mins: A good little spell of possession for New Zealand here, but while they are able to keep the ball well and knock it around a bit, they aren’t generating much goal threat, if any.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:29 , Arthur Ferridge
27mins: Garbett’s long-range effort bobbles awkwardly for Pickford but he does well to get down and push it away from danger.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:27 , Arthur Ferridge
25mins: And we are back underway!
Oli Gent reports
21:26 , Arthur Ferridge
The first cooling break of the match and it gives Tuchel valuable time to get some feedback across. He gesticulates with his arms wide at his players huddled around him, ice packs draped around their necks. Rashford and Watkins are looking lively out wide, but the Three Lions might need to do more to get them involved in attacking moves.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:25 , Arthur Ferridge
The England players are all wiping themselves down with cold towels during the drinks break. It is 32C and blindingly sunny in Tampa.
You hope Thomas Tuchel put sun cream on his bald spot.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:24 , Arthur Ferridge
22mins: Djed Spence, for reasons best known to himself, has a shot from about 35 yards out. It sails high and wide, taking us into our first water break of the afternoon.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:23 , Arthur Ferridge
21mins: A training ground corner move from England there sees Henderson play one short to Spence, but there are too many men in the box for the Tottenham man to worry Crocombe.
Oli Gent reports
21:22 , Arthur Ferridge
A laboured opening quarter of an hour from England here. Fair enough, as they acclimatise to the heat - and each other - while trying to break down New Zealand's defensive blockade. Kane's effort from range may be a sign that it will be a moment of magic that unlocks this game.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:21 , Arthur Ferridge
20mins: How has that stayed out! Henderson has New Zealand all at sea with a cross which his man in the box can’t quite bring down.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:21 , Arthur Ferridge
19mins: It is a rather plodding build-up from New Zealand, who don’t seem absolutely sure how to work the ball through the England lines.
The best strategy they’ve landed on so far seems to be just lumping it forward. Route one, but hey, it gets the job done, doesn’t it?
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:19 , Arthur Ferridge
17mins: Kane’s long-range strike is saved in routine fashion by Crocombe of Millwall.
Anyway, looking around the grounds, Lawrence Shankland has Scotland 1-0 up against Bolivia.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:18 , Arthur Ferridge
16mins: Another poor England shot here as Rogers laces one into Row Z.
Oli Gent reports
21:16 , Arthur Ferridge
Tuchel won't be happy with the England defending there. A long diagonal is made stick by Chris Wood, who has Guehi breathing down his neck, acting as that lone ranger up top for the Kiwis. He brings in Singh, who feeds Garbutt, but the Peterborogh United winger slashes wide of the post.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:16 , Arthur Ferridge
14mins: A cracking ball forward from Quansah finds Watkins in acres and he’s through one-on-one, but the Aston Villa man drags his shot well, well wide. Get them out now, Ollie.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:15 , Arthur Ferridge
13mins: Note for the viewers - Djed Spence is wearing a protective mask on his jaw after it was broken by a challenge from Liam Delap in Tottenham’s penultimate match of the Premier League season - a 2-1 defeat by Chelsea.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:13 , Arthur Ferridge
11mins: Not sure if Quansah quite has the legs to play as a right-back in a Tuchel setup. Twice now New Zealand have got through on his flank as the Leverkusen man lumbers back.
Oli Gent reports
21:12 , Arthur Ferridge
As expected in these early knockings. England in full control of the ball, looking to find an opening against this compact New Zealand defensive unit. The full-backs have got the freedom to get forward on the overlap, with Rashford and Watkins moving infield to link up with Kane and Rogers. The two wide men have already swapped flanks as well. One to keep an eye on.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:11 , Arthur Ferridge
9mins: New Zealand cut England open with a long ball and Chris Wood gets the better of Guehi and Stones, but he has nobody with him in support and is eventually caught up.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:11 , Arthur Ferridge
9mins: Rashford’s cross falls nicely for Stones in a huge amount of space, but he can’t quite guide it beyond Crocombe. His effort is blocked.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:10 , Arthur Ferridge
8mins: As Oli points out, this is a very changeable front four from England. Kane and Watkins are constantly taking turns to lead the line or sit off each other, while Rashford and Rogers are both floating around on the flanks, too.
Rashford in particular is looking nice and lively as he sizes up a second corner of the afternoon.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:09 , Arthur Ferridge
7mins: Rashford is tripped by Stamenic as England look to break, and they will be forced to make do with a free-kick in their own half.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:06 , Arthur Ferridge
5mins: Rashford tees Henderson up for a shot from the edge of the box, but his effort is blocked by Bell.
Oli Gent reports
21:06 , Arthur Ferridge
Early tactical observations - a fluid system from Tuchel, it seems. Some would interpret a 4-2-2-2, with Rogers and Rashford as the two free-roaming No10s, while others may think it's a 4-2-3-1 with Rogers tucked behind Kane and Watkins wide right. Either way, Watkins is drifting more and more centrally in these early exchanges, looking to get close to Kane and add a body in the box.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:04 , Arthur Ferridge
2mins: Rashford takes, but it is a white shirt rather than a red one which meets the set-piece. Jordan Henderson is first to the loose ball and he recycles back to Pickford between the sticks.
England 0-0 New Zealand
21:03 , Arthur Ferridge
1mins: An early corner for England, conceded as Cacace misreads a long-ball into the box.
KICK-OFF! England 0-0 New Zealand
21:01 , Arthur Ferridge
And we’re off!
20:58 , Arthur Ferridge
There’s a fair few empty seats left in the stadium, to the tune of several thousand. Not a strong turnout at all from the Floridians.
Here we go...
20:55 , Arthur Ferridge
The players are out! Let’s hear those anthems.
Do spare a thought for today’s officials, who are dressed in all black. Not the outfit you want in these kind of conditions at all.
Team news reminder
20:50 , Arthur Ferridge
Not long until kick-off now. Here’s a reminder of this evening’s starting XIs.
England XI: Pickford; Spence, Stones, Guehi, Quansah, Henderson, Mainoo, Rogers, Rashford, Watkins, Kane
New Zealand XI: Crocombe; Payne, Boxall, Bell, Garbett, Stamenic, Singh, Just, Cacace, Surman, Wood
Who is Tim Payne?
20:45 , Arthur Ferridge
Tim Payne, a 32-year-old defender playing for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League, is already the first breakout star of this World Cup.
He shot to fame earlier this month after an influencer known as El Scarso asked his fans to help take the ‘least known’ player at the tournament to global stardom.
That saw Payne’s social media following explode from 5,000 to over five million in a matter of weeks.
Tuchel's game plan
20:43 , Arthur Ferridge
It seems this will be a game of two halves for England. There are suggestions knocking around that, this being a friendly, Tuchel will make eleven changes at half-time.
Oli Gent reports
20:40 , Arthur Ferridge
This will be the first time that Tuchel has fielded a front two since he took over the reins from Lee Carsley. Throughout the World Cup qualifying campaign, he plumped for just the one centre-forward - Harry Kane, without fail - but now, with the clock ticking ahead of this summer's tournament, he decides to go for something new.
Watkins does offer that threat in behind that Kane lacks - that pace that can stretch a backline - and he will also offer another body in the box to aim for, with England hoping it rains goals in Tampa this evening.
Groundsman defends pitch quality
20:35 , Arthur Ferridge
The groundsman at the Raymond James Stadium has taken to Twitter to defend the quality of tonight’s markedly lumpy, much-maligned playing surface.
Yes you can still see the seams and I would love for it to be darker green but there are zero concerns about the playability and safety of the field today. pic.twitter.com/WWWs8XrDxy
— Trey Altman (@treyaltman) June 6, 2026
New Zealand fact file
20:30 , Arthur Ferridge
Fun fact for the stattos out there: New Zealand are the lowest-ranked team at the 2026 World Cup.
Their qualification was rather straightforward after Australia were moved into the Asian path, removing their only real serious rival from the conversation.
Oli Gent reports
20:23 , Arthur Ferridge
Well, that is certainly what these games are for... experimenting. Just not quite in the way we perhaps thought.
From the confirmed squad numbers alone, No26 Quansah would not be one of the candidates to feature at right-back, with No2 Ezri Konsa, No12 Tino Livramento and No24 Reece James the natural choices.
That will ask a lot of Morgan Rogers down the right flank to hold the width, while Djed Spence will likely have more licence to bomb on down the left as Marcus Rashford moves inside onto his stronger right foot.
20:16 , Arthur Ferridge
And the instant that post goes live, the USA equalise against Germany. Of course they do. Sod’s law.
Antonee Robinson is the man responsible, netting his fifth senior goal for the USMNT.
Around the grounds
20:15 , Arthur Ferridge
Also kicking off at 9pm BST tonight is Scotland vs Bolivia.
The Tartan Army find themselves in New Jersey’s Sports Illustrated Stadium, home to New York Red Bull.
There have been plenty of other pre-World Cup friendlies today, too. Here are some selected results.
Canada 1-1 Ireland
Haiti 1-2 Peru
Belgium 5-0 Tunisia
And, the following matches are underway: Portugal 1-0 Chile, USA 0-1 Germany, Panama 0-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina, Switzerland 0-0 Australia
New Zealand XI
20:10 , Arthur Ferridge
Any reader of The Standard will surely be thrilled to see some rare London representation in the New Zealand squad as Millwall shot-stopper Max Crocombe lines up between the sticks. He is one of two players at this World Cup to represent a non-Premier League, London-based club, the other being Scotland’s Lyndon Dykes (Charlton Athletic).
Elsewhere, Chris Wood leads the line, with accidental celebrity Tim Payne in defence (more on him later!).
NEW ZEALAND CONFIRMED TEAM NEWS
20:05 , Arthur Ferridge
New Zealand XI: Crocombe; Payne, Boxall, Bell, Garbett, Stamenic, Singh, Just, Cacace, Surman, Wood
Subs: Woud, Paulsen, Barbarouses, Bayliss, Bindon, De Vries, Elliot, McCowatt, Old, Pijnaker, Randall, Rufer, Smith, Waine
Oli Gent reports
19:56 , Arthur Ferridge
An interesting first lineup from Tuchel. It's Jarrell Quansah at right-back, with Djed Spence on the left. Jordan Henderson - that will ruffle some feathers - and Kobbie Mainoo as the double pivot. The big talking point? A strike partnership, with Harry Kane and Ollie Watkins leading the line together. That leaves Morgan Rogers and Marcus Rashford either side. Surely not a 4-2-4?!
ENGLAND CONFIRMED TEAM NEWS
19:52 , Arthur Ferridge
England XI: Pickford; Spence, Stones, Guehi, Quansah, Henderson, Mainoo, Rogers, Rashford, Watkins, Kane
Subs: Konsa, O’Reilly, Anderson, Bellingham, Livramento, D. Henderson, Burn, Gordon, Toney, Trafford, James, Scott, King, Nwaneri, Ngumoha
England vs New Zealand, elsewhere
19:47 , Arthur Ferridge
England have also been facing New Zealand in the cricket today!
Or they would have, if not for the good old London drizzle, which saw play abandoned on this, the third day of the five-day Rothesay test.
Play being called off today does see England edge closer to victory in the test, though. New Zealand need 199 runs to win, while the Three Lions need just five wickets from the remaining two days of play.
Pitch concerns
19:39 , Arthur Ferridge
Photos of the playing surface at the Raymond James Stadium have emerged this week, and it looks... suboptimal.
There are plenty of lumps and bumps in the astroturf, and both Thomas Tuchel and his opposite number, Darren Bazeley, will be concerned about suffering injuries this close to the World Cup.
“I just saw it now,” said Tuchel on Friday. “It will not affect my team selection because what I have heard until now is that it should be OK and we want it, of course, to be OK.
“I saw just a photo from your colleague that made me a little bit worried and concerned, but let’s decide when we are there.
“If there are any issues, we can always react to it. The plan is tomorrow to play 45, 45 minutes with two complete teams, to expose everyone to the same amount of minutes.
“Then we can continue the next three days with the same load of training. That is the plan, and at the moment we stick to the plan.”
New Zealand group stage fixtures
19:31 , Arthur Ferridge
June 16 vs Iran (Los Angeles)
June 22 vs Egypt (Vancouver)
June 27 vs Belgium (Vancouver)
England group stage fixtures
19:23 , Arthur Ferridge
June 17 vs Croatia (Arlington, Texas)
June 23 vs Ghana (Boston, Massachusetts)
June 27 vs Panama (New York/New Jersey)
Tampa Bay weather report
19:15 , Arthur Ferridge
The weather will be a constant narrative during this World Cup, for two reasons: heat and thunderstorms.
While it is a toasty 31C in Tampa Bay at the moment - rising to 33C by kick-off - I am pleased to report that no rain is expected this evening.
Unexpected thunderstorms have been known to materialise seemingly out of nothing in this part of the world, and any lightning strike within 10 miles of the stadium will result in a weather delay of at least 30 minutes.
How will England line up today?
19:07 , Arthur Ferridge
It is not absolutely clear how England will line up here. Does Thomas Tuchel go full-strength (unlikely) or does he experiment?
Our esteemed England correspondent has given the question some thought...
England predicted XI vs New Zealand (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Konsa, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly; Mainoo, Henderson; Rashford, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane
Unavailable: Rice, Saka, Madueke, Eze
Standard Sport prediction
18:59 , Arthur Ferridge
England looked far from convincing in their two March warm-up games but New Zealand are a step down in terms of quality in comparison to Uruguay and Japan.
It very rarely is straight-forward with the Three Lions, regardless of the standard of opposition, but we expect Tuchel’s side to get the job done with ease and build confidence ahead of the World Cup.
England to win, 2-0.
New Zealand early team news
18:51 , Arthur Ferridge
As for New Zealand, Ryan Thomas missed the 4-0 loss to Haiti with a hamstring strain and is set to sit out the England match too.
Joe Bell was also absent against Haiti because of a calf strain, but there is optimism that he will recover in time to face the Three Lions before the World Cup opener against Iran on June 15.
England early team news: Arsenal stars absent
18:43 , Arthur Ferridge
England are without Arsenal quartet Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze after they featured in last weekend’s Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
They all, however, are expected to be involved against Costa Rica next week.
The good news for Tuchel is the rest of his 26-man World Cup squad trained on Friday, including John Stones and new Barcelona signing Anthony Gordon.
Tuchel will use this friendly as an opportunity to experiment, so it is more than likely that the majority of his squad will get some minutes ahead of the World Cup opener against Croatia.
Team news coming up shortly
18:53 , Arthur Ferridge
We expect team sheets for today’s match to be released imminently!
How to watch England vs New Zealand
18:35 , Arthur Ferridge
TV channel: In the UK, England vs New Zealand is being shown live and free-to-air on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 8.15pm BST ahead of a 9pm kick-off at the Raymond James Stadium, in Tampa Florida
Live stream: You can also watch the game live online via the ITVX app, which is free with a sign-up.
Live blog: Follow all the action right here with Standard Sport’s live blog, featuring expert analysis from our very own Oli Gent!
Click here to read the full blog on The The Standard's website
