The All Whites have fallen to a 1-0 loss against England, but their last hit-out before the World Cup opener against Iran on June 16 offered more encouragement than the 4-0 thrashing by Haiti earlier this week, writes Chris Chang.
Here are five talking points from the match in Tampa, Florida.
1. All Whites restore order
After suffering a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Haiti — Chris Wood argued the All Whites
"played a friendly" — it was imperative that New Zealand showed more composure, fight, and creativity against the might of England.
Goalscoring opportunities continue to be a problem, but today's showing was a far better one, against a team that is among the favourites to win the tournament.
2. Goalkeeper choice no clearer
Max Crocombe played 83 minutes here, but is the choice between him and Alex Paulsen any clearer?
He made a couple of saves from Harry Kane's efforts, but his distribution was shaky.
If the side is going to persist with short goal kicks, Crocombe needs to be far sharper with his feet.
Many of his longer passes failed to find their mark, and New Zealand can ill-afford to surrender possession so cheaply.
3. Surman cements his spot?
Finn Surman will be keen to forget the Haiti match from earlier this week after a couple of major errors led to goals conceded.
He went some way to making amends here with a vastly improved performance — a couple of key blocks and clearances helped New Zealand frustrate the Three Lions.
It now looks like the Boxall-Surman partnership will win out to start against Iran.
4. Late substitutions
While Thomas Tuchel replaced the entire England starting XI at half-time, Darren Bazeley held off making substitutions until the hour mark.
Several players barely had enough time to impress or stake a claim for a starting spot, leaving the preferred starting line-up to slog it out in the hot Tampa temps for an hour.
5. In case you missed it…
• Tim Payne wouldn’t have done his own legend much harm here, battling away against Marcus Rashford and Djed Spence.
A big cheer came up for the World Cup’s latest hero when he was subbed off at 60 minutes. He got 15 minutes to compare Duolingo notes with new Barcelona recruit Anthony Gordon. Muy bueno.
• Jenny Bindon, former Football Fern and mum of Tyler, was spotted in the crowd before the game. They’ll become the first mother-son duo to appear at FIFA World Cups.
• Bazeley’s boldest call of the day may have been to wear a long-sleeved black shirt in temperatures above 31 degrees.
All Whites 0 England 1 (Kane 45+3’) HT 0-1
Watch the All Whites' FIFA World Cup and warm-up matches live and free on TVNZ+
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