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Harry Kane says he feels 'in best shape of his career' as England captain once again proves difference in World Cup warm-up friendly win v New Zealand

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Harry Kane scored the only goal as England began their 2026 World Cup preparations with a 1-0 victory over New Zealand in Florida, and the country's captain says he feels "in the best shape of his career."

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In sweltering 33-degree heat at the Raymond James Stadium, Kane's superb glancing header from Djed Spence's cross in first-half stoppage-time was the difference against the lowest-ranked nation at this summer's tournament in North America.

It was a rare moment of quality in a game low on drama, but Thomas Tuchel will be pleased that all 22 players who featured at the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came through unscathed.

This was little more than an intense training session with 11 substitutions made at half-time, allowing for each outfield member of the current traveling party to get minutes under their belts before the Arsenal contingent join the squad this weekend.

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Kane, who notched his 67th goal for club and country since the start of the 2025/26 season, produced another trademark finish prior to the interval - and the Bayern Munich striker reiterated how he has never felt in such good shape heading into the World Cup.

There have been reports that Tuchel will manage Kane's minutes in the coming weeks, given the climate, but speaking to ITV pitchside at the final whistle, the 32-year-old said: "I think physically, mentally, it's the best shape I have been in my career.

Harry Kane celebrates scoring for England against New Zealand

Image credit: Getty Images

"We're going into a tough environment, a tough tournament, I'm excited for it. The World Cup is the biggest tournament of all, and I'm looking forward to it getting started really.

"It's a good win as it's not easy. The heat is hard, the pitch wasn't great. To be honest, it was really hard to play the way that we wanted to play. But this is why we are here, to adapt to it. In the end, we probably could've scored a couple more, but we know we are here more for preparation than the result.

"We appreciate all the support, for us to get that much support in this type of game knowing how much it cost, we hope we can repay them well."

Bellingham: I'm overcoming my injuries

Kane was speaking alongside Jude Bellingham, who played in the second half in the No. 10 role as a replacement for Morgan Rogers.

Bellingham showed some nice touches as he was tasked with combining with Ivan Toney, Anthony Gordon and Rio Ngumoha, who was voted by supporters as the pick of England's players on the day.

Jude Bellingham says he is feeling sharper after previous injuries

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Bellingham told ITV: "We are going to have to manage the game well at times. We want to play that full force, high pressing, high tempo football which is difficult in the heat and with the pitches. Both sets of players made a great effort to get out of the game what we had to do before the tournament so we are pleased.

"I'm feeling good off the back of a tough season with a couple of injuries for the first time in my career. I feel strong, I feel better than I did at the start of the season. I'm feeling excited and ready.

"We've got a good mix [in the squad] - experience and youth in there and players who haven't come with us before, so all of that makes for a good mix.

"We have quality in abundance. Senior players like the skipper, Hendo [Jordan Henderson], [John] Stones and Picks [Jordan Pickford], so we can go a long way."

Tuchel: We had more hunger in second half

The 10 outfield players who played in the second half had a combined total of 11 international goals between them and, while they failed to add to that tally during a goalless 45-minute outing, Tuchel said he was more pleased with how his side performed as a unit after the break.

"I was happy with the second half, we had more hunger, grit and desire in the second half but didn't score," Tuchel told ITV.

"We weren't so disciplined and played according to our plan in the first half, which slowed up our game. But to put it into context, a lot of the players were last with us in November and missed the last March camp.

"We will get with the time that we are out here used to the humidity and the sun. Now, the most positive thing is to keep training with the whole group. We have no complaints and no-one is injured.

"Tomorrow will be a recovery day, then Costa Rica, where a chunk of players will get more minutes.

"The Arsenal players are in, which gives us quality and energy, and after that game we have one and a half days off and prepare for Croatia.

At 17 years and 281 days, Rio Ngumoha is the fifth youngest player ever to debut for the England men's team

Image credit: Getty Images

"First of all, I'm happy no-one is injured. We had four good training sessions and now this split game in the heat on a very difficult pitch.

"It was not easy, everyone is fit, we have a win, a clean sheet and from there we have to improve and the quality will come.

"The better the opponent gets, the better we will get. It was like trying to score and score, as these games sometimes look."

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