England 1-0 New Zealand Player Ratings: Harry Kane's Strike Seals Victory For The Three Lions As New Zealand Get Utterly Dominated

Thomas Tuchel's England took on New Zealand in their first international friendly at the Raymond James Stadium. The Three Lions were the better of the two sides in the first half, while the All Whites had their own moments of glory too, but failed to capitalize on them.

The first half saw England play on the front foot, keeping possession and getting into dangerous areas with the ball. Marcus Rashford starred for England in the first half as he made something happen every time he had the ball at his feet.

The England national football team took shots in bulk, as eight of their ten outfield players took a shot each in the first half, barring Jarrel Quansah and Marc Guehi. John Stones had a good chance early on, but his header was directed straight at Chris Wood, which was cleared shortly after.

Marcus Rashford had the best chance, as he cut inside and had a go with his right foot, only to be blocked by Finn Surman. Matthew Garbett of the New Zealand national football team came close as he saw Jordan Pickford palm away his shot with ease.

Finally, just before the first half whistle, Djed Spence's cross found Harry Kane in the box, and one of the best strikers in the world currently didn't fail in putting it into the back of the net to put England into the lead.

The second half saw Tuchel field a completely different lineup, with Jude Bellingham as the captain. Liverpool sensation Rio Ngumoha was handed his debut in this game in the second half, and gave a hard time to Liberato Cacace.

Dan Burn came close with a header as his effort went off the woodwork. The Three Lions thought they had a penalty in the 60th minute after Ivan Toney was shoved to the floor by Garbett, but a VAR review deemed the Al Ahli striker to be offside in the build-up play.

England dominated the proceedings until the last minute and picked up a neat 1-0 win, something their German manager would be extremely proud of. New Zealand had little to offer, as they need to improve significantly to maximize their chances in the upcoming World Cup.

Check out Sportsdunia's England vs New Zealand Player Ratings.

Key Takeaways

• England had most possession (71%) compared to New Zealand's 29%, and had taken a total of 23 shots in the game while the All Whites recorded just two.
• Rio Ngumoha became the fifth youngest player to debut for England.
• Liberato Cacace and Rio Ngumoha both won the most duels in this match (5).

England National Football Team Player Ratings vs New Zealand

Here are the England national football team player ratings from the England vs New Zealand Player Ratings.

New Zealand National Football Team Player Ratings vs England

Have a look at the New Zealand national football team player ratings from the England vs New Zealand Player Ratings.

Man of the Match

Harry Kane was the best performer in this international friendly.

Worst Performer

Sarpreet Singh was the worst performer from England vs New Zealand.