Tuchel reflects on New Zealand victory

England boss Thomas Tuchel was pleased with his squad’s run-out against New Zealand, as preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2026 begin to intensify.

The Three Lions beat the All Whites by a single goal, after Harry Kane glanced home a header in first-half stoppage time in Tampa.

But for Tuchel, the result wasn’t the most important aspect of the day as he managed to get 45 minutes of action for 22 members of his squad as they continue to build-up to their opening game with Croatia on Wednesday 17 June.

With the heat and humidity of the Floridian climate to contend with, having arrived in the Sunshine State at the start of the week, it was a first experience of the kind of conditions England will face this summer.

“First of all, I’m happy that no one was injured,” he said.

“We’ve had four good training sessions and we now had this split game for everyone, 45 minutes in the heat on a difficult pitch…it was not easy.

“Everyone is fit, we have a win, we have a clean sheet and from there we can keep on going. The quality will come. The better the opponent gets, the better we will get.”

After changing his entire lineup at the break to ensure the equal minutes across the squad, Tuchel was satisfied with the output and outcome of both halves.

“I was more happy with the second half, I think we had more hunger, more grit and more desire in the second half and played better but we didn't score.

“Harry scored our only goal in the first half but I thought we were not so disciplined in our positions and didn't play according to our plan.

“That slowed our game down and the second half was actually better but we didn't score.

“Overall, to put it into context, a lot of the players were last with us in November, they missed the March camp, so it is quite a long time. It is the first game after the season, it is all good.”

The squad will now return to their prep-camp base in West Palm Beach, where they will focus on recovery before turning their attentions to their final warm-up game against Costa Rica in Orlando on Wednesday evening (9pm BST).

“With the time we are out here, we will get exposed to the heat and the humidity and the sun - that's why we are here.

“We can keep training with the whole group because no one is injured. Tomorrow [Sunday] will be a recovery day, then we have two days to prepare for Costa Rica, then a chunk of players will get more minutes."