England open their U.S. summer tour with the penultimate World Cup warm-up against New Zealand on Saturday, June 6. Kick-off at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. BST (4:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 a.m. Sunday NZ). The match will be shown on ITV1 in the U.K. and on Prime Video in the U.S., with live updates available via ESPN.
It is the first meeting between the two nations in 35 years; England and New Zealand have met only twice before, both in June 1991, with England winning 2-0 and 1-0. Referee and VAR appointments for the Tampa fixture are yet to be announced.
Thomas Tuchel has used friendlies to experiment but has been more successful in competitive matches, and with the World Cup approaching he is expected to narrow those trials. The Arsenal quartet of Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke have been given time off to recover after the Champions League final on May 31. England will be seeking a reaction after a 1-0 defeat by Japan in their last outing.
There is still scope for adjustments: Tuchel has trialed roles such as playing Phil Foden as a false nine in previous friendlies, and the absence of the Arsenal players opens the door for midfield options like Kobbie Mainoo and Elliot Anderson. Several players not named in the World Cup squad — Rio Ngumoh, Alex Scott, Josh King, Ethan Nwaneri and Jason Steele — are training with the group in Florida but are understood to be present mainly for camp duties and are unlikely to start.
New Zealand arrive having secured World Cup qualification via the OFC playoff route and will make their third World Cup appearance and first since 2010. They scored 29 goals across five OFC qualification matches but were beaten 4-0 by Haiti on June 2 and carry a recent friendly record of one win, one draw and four losses. New Zealand beat Chile 4-1 in March. Midfielder Ryan Thomas is ruled out with a leg injury and Joe Bell is doubtful with a leg injury.
At the World Cup, England are drawn in Group L with Croatia, Ghana and Panama, while New Zealand will face Belgium, Iran and Egypt in Group G.
