England 1-0 New Zealand: Kane continues scoring run in testing temperatures

England began their World Cup preparations with a win as Harry Kane scored the only goal in their 1-0 win over New Zealand at Raymond James Stadium.

Kane's 45th-minute header proved to be the difference for England, who produced an expected goals (xG) total of 1.49 from their 23 attempts in the sweltering Tampa heat.

The Three Lions had their chances in the first half, with John Stones somehow heading off target when completely unmarked before Marcus Rashford saw his shot blocked.

England captain Kane came close again just after the half-hour mark as he saw his header tipped over by Max Crocombe, but the New Zealand goalkeeper could do nothing to stop the Bayern Munich striker's deft headed flick from Djed Spence's cross on the stroke of half-time.

Thomas Tuchel made 11 changes at the break, and substitute Dan Burn almost doubled England's lead four minutes into the second half, but he hit the left post with a header.

England struggled in the final third from thereon, but they thought they were awarded a penalty when Ivan Toney was bundled over inside the penalty area by Matthew Garbett.

However, referee Natalie Simon quickly reversed the decision when the linesman raised the flag for offside, with the Three Lions settling for a narrow win.

All eyes on King Kane

Tuchel handed minutes to 22 different players tonight, the first time England have done so in any fixture since June 2004 against Iceland, a 6-1 win in their final warm-up game before Euro 2004.

However, it was up to captain and star striker Kane to make the difference again, with the 32-year-old now scoring 11 goals across his last 11 games for England.

New Zealand are the 35th different opponent Kane has scored against for England, seven more than the player with the next most teams scored against (Wayne Rooney, 28).

After Kane was replaced at half-time, England managed just one shot on target from their nine attempts, a half-chance from Anthony Gordon which was straight at Crocombe, showing the heavy reliance the Three Lions have on their skipper.

Tuchel experimented by starting Kane and Watkins together, the first time the pair lined up together for England from the start, but it was not successful, with the German coach now switching his focus to their friendly against Costa Rica on Wednesday.