England kicked off their final warm-up matches for the 2026 World Cup on June 6 with a friendly against New Zealand at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, under hot conditions forecasted at 32°C [1, 2, 3]. Manager Thomas Tuchel acknowledged concerns about the recently relaid grass pitch but said it would not affect team selection. "I saw a photo from a journalist which made me a little bit worried and concerned, but let's decide when we are there," Tuchel said [4]. He added that the weather had been unusually wet and overcast ahead of the match. "It just showed us you can plan whatever you want, and life does what it wants. It was a lot of rain, it was a lot of grey sky, very unusual," he said [1].
Tuchel also plans to rotate the squad heavily during the New Zealand game, with 11 substitutions at half-time to give all players a chance to play [1, 3]. The match is the first of two warm-up games before England open their World Cup Group L campaign against Croatia on June 17 in Dallas, Texas [1, 4]. England’s second warm-up is scheduled against Costa Rica on June 10 in Orlando before relocating to their base camp in Kansas City [1, 4, 3].
England have been training in hot and humid conditions in West Palm Beach, Florida, to help players acclimatize to the heat expected at World Cup venues in Dallas, Kansas City, Miami, and Mexico City [1, 2, 3]. Former US international Alexi Lalas commented on the heat challenge: "And guess what? It’s going to be hot again this time" [2]. Tuchel acknowledged the challenge, saying, "We don't want it to be an excuse. It will be tough. It will be hopefully a long World Cup" [3].
New Zealand qualified for the tournament by dominating the Oceania qualifiers with a cumulative score of 29-1 but enter the friendly following recent struggles, including a heavy 4-0 loss to Haiti [5]. England enter the World Cup ranked as third favorites behind Spain and France by football analysts [5]. Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, part of the England squad, has scored 61 goals in 51 games this season [4].
On May 30, several Arsenal players including Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka missed training due to the Champions League final, but activities resumed fully under Tuchel’s guidance from June 2 in West Palm Beach [4, 2]. Tuchel addressed all concerns about weather and pitch quality during a press conference in Tampa on June 5 [1, 4, 6, 3].
The next key fixture for England after today’s game is the warm-up match against Costa Rica on June 10, ahead of the June 17 World Cup opener against Croatia.
