With England manager Thomas Tuchel rotating his entire team at half-time and handing minutes to 22 players in scorching heat, the result was secondary to the process.

But Kane's clinical finish with a glancing header into the bottom corner from Djed Spence's cross offered a timely reminder of the skipper's importance to the Three Lions' hopes in the tournament.

The match was designed to test the squad's readiness for the 2026 FIFA World Cup conditions as England showed flashes of cohesion without ever fully settling into a rhythm.

There was a debut for 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, who is training with the team but not part of the FIFA World Cup squad, while England's quartet of Arsenal players – Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke – was scheduled to join the team later in the day having been given time off after playing in last weekend's UEFA Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

England captain Kane came close again just after the half-hour mark as he saw his header tipped over by Max Crocombe, but the New Zealand goalkeeper could do nothing to stop the Bayern Munich striker's deft headed flick from Djed Spence's cross on the stroke of half-time.

Tuchel made 11 changes at the break, and substitute Dan Burn almost doubled England's lead four minutes into the second half, but he hit the left post with a header.

England struggled in the final third from thereafter, but thought it was awarded a penalty when Ivan Toney was bundled over inside the penalty area by Matthew Garbett.

However, referee Natalie Simon quickly reversed the decision when the linesman raised the flag for offside, with the Three Lions settling for a narrow win.

England faces Costa Rica in one last friendly before its 2026 FIFA World Cup opener against Croatia on 18 June (AEST), and Kane is feeling confident heading into the tournament.

"I think physically, mentally, it's the best shape I have been in my career," Kane said.

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

On the win over New Zealand, Kane added: "Yeah a good win, it's not easy. The heat is hard, the pitch wasn't great to be honest really hard to play the way that we want to play.

"But this is why we are here, to adapt to it. In the end we probably could've scored a couple more we know we are here more for preparation than the result.

"The drinks breaks help. A lot of people are talking about the heat but I don't think it's going to be as big a factor as what some people say.

"Me personally and a few of of the boys who have been training for a while in it felt fine today. We're all athletes, we're all professionals and have played in warm weather conditions before."