Black Stars' opponents England beat New Zealand ahead of the World Cup

Ghana's Group L rivals England were far from impressive as they edged past New Zealand 1-0 in a pre-World Cup friendly in Florida, offering the Black Stars plenty of encouragement ahead of their June 23 showdown at Gillette Stadium.

Harry Kane's 79th international goal, a first-half stoppage-time header from Djed Spence's delivery, was the only difference between the two sides, with Thomas Tuchel's men struggling to assert their quality against a determined New Zealand outfit ranked 85th in the world.

Can the Difference in the Flat First Half

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England dominated possession in the opening exchanges but lacked a clinical edge. Ollie Watkins dragged a low effort wide before Kane saw a long-range strike parried by goalkeeper Max Crocombe. New Zealand were not without their moments either, with Matthew Garbett forcing a smart save from Jordan Pickford as the All Whites refused to sit deep.

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The breakthrough eventually came in first-half stoppage time when Kane glanced a header into the bottom corner, his 79th goal for the Three Lions, to give England a slender lead they would not extend.

Tuchel's Changes Fail to Spark England

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Tuchel made wholesale changes at the break, handing 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha his international debut and recalling Al-Ahli forward Ivan Toney for his first England cap in 12 months. The fresh legs made little difference. Dan Burn headed agonizingly against the post from eight yards, while Jude Bellingham fired over from a promising position late on as New Zealand's backline held firm.

What It Means for Ghana

England now prepares for a final warm-up against Costa Rica before their World Cup begins. For Carlos Queiroz and the Black Stars, this was a watching brief full of positives a ponderous England side that created little and conceded chances to a team ranked far below Ghana's Group L rivals. The June 23 clash just got a little more interesting.