STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Sat: England v New Zealand

England face New Zealand on Saturday in their penultimate match before their 2026 World Cup campaign in North America gets underway, writes JOE CITRONE.

Croatia await on June 17th, and Thomas Tuchel has just six days and two friendlies left to get his side ready. This is the penultimate run-out before the real stuff begins, and it’s a chance to both fine-tune the final preparations and also experiment before it all gets underway.

Despite not being included in the final squad, Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott looks set to be handed his senior debut in Tampa, which is the big talking point ahead of kick-off. There are also concerns about the quality of the Raymond James Stadium pitch, which could make for a scrappier evening than anyone would like.

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England v New Zealand
International Friendly
21:00 ITV1

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
JUN 1991 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY New Zealand 0-2 England
JUN 1991 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY New Zealand 0-1 England

ENGLAND
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY England 0-1 Japan
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY England 1-1 Uruguay
NOV 2025 WC QUALIFYING England 2-0 Albania
NOV 2025 WC QUALIFYING England 2-0 Serbia
OCT 2025 WC QUALIFYING Latvia 0-5 England

NEW ZEALAND
JUN 2026 FRIENDLY Haiti 4-0 New Zealand
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY New Zealand 4-1 Chile
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY New Zealand 0-2 Finland
MAR 2025 WC QUALIFYING New Caledonia 0-3 New Zealand
MAR 2025 WC QUALIFYING New Zealand 7-0 Fiji

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New Zealand are at the World Cup themselves, so they’re not here just to make up the numbers, but a 4-0 hammering by Haiti earlier this week hasn’t exactly filled anyone with confidence in the All Whites.

England are without Saka, Rice, Eze and Madueke following Arsenal’s Champions League final, so Tuchel isn’t working with his strongest hand, but a result isn’t the be-all and end-all here. It’s about getting through unscathed and heading into the Croatia game in good shape.

With the Three Lions just looking to get through this without any injuries, and not likely to exert themselves too much as they get used to the searing heat they will be facing this summer, I am not expecting a goal-fest. At 20/21 with starsports.bet, I am backing England and under 3.5 goals.

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