Rio Ngumoha dazzles on debut as midfielder warned he could play himself out of England shirt with 4/10 display

It wasn’t pretty, but did it need to be?

England’s World Cup preparations continued with a 1-0 win over New Zealand in Tampa Bay.

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Harry Kane’s header late in the first half was the difference in energy-sapping conditions where both teams got valuable pre-tournament minutes into the legs.

Thomas Tuchel promised he’d trot out two entirely different line-ups for each half and that’s exactly what transpired.

More importantly, all players emerged unscathed from the contest, a pleasing boost for Tuchel given Germany and Argentina have already lost players for the World Cup due to pre-tournament injuries.

However, one player who may have given Tuchel a welcome headache was 17-year-old star Rio Ngumoha – who isn’t in the World Cup squad.

He was a livewire on the right throughout the second half in what was his senior international debut.

talkSPORT’s chief live football anchor Adrian Durham was in attendance at the Raymond James Stadium to take in the contest, with some names staking a serious claim to start England’s World Cup opener against Croatia on June 17.

Unfortunately for a handful of others, Durham wasn’t overly impressed with their displays, perhaps opening the door for one of their teammates to nudge ahead in the pecking order.

England’s First Half

Jordan Pickford started between the sticks for England and was an assured presence throughout the first half.

The Everton glovesman was not forced to make any saves of note, although he produced a smart stop to deny Matt Garbett’s curled effort from outside the box.

Jarell Quansah looked comfortable at right-back and looked to join in on several attacks, despite being a centre-back by trade.

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Marc Guehi and John Stones were at the heart of defence, although Durham wasn’t overly impressed with either man.

Durham felt Stones ‘didn’t show’ his skills on the ball while Guehi has ‘a lot to prove this summer’ after costing Manchester City the league.

However, Durham was far more positive when describing left-back Djed Spence’s performance.

Durham noted Spence ‘tried to make things happen’ and very much did just that at the end of the first half as he provided the assist for Harry Kane’s opener.

In midfield, Jordan Henderson and Kobbie Mainoo dictated the tempo with relative ease, rarely needing to speed the game up given the heat and the fact it was a warm-up contest.

One player from the first half Durham was not impressed with was Morgan Rogers.

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Durham felt the Aston Villa ace ‘might be letting others in’ for the coveted No. 10 position.

He wasn’t the only Villa star Durham was disappointed with, as Ollie Watkins also came in for criticism.

Durham was far more complementary of Watkins’ attacking partners in Marcus Rashford and Harry Kane.

Rashford ‘set the standard’ against the Kiwis with his ‘energy and creativity’, with the winger especially keen to cut inside from the left wing to fizz in a cross or rip a powerful shot towards goal.

Up top, Kane produced a ‘terrific header’ for his goal having found himself in acres of space.

Most importantly, Kane made it unscathed through the first half, something that several were fearful of given concerns over the state of the pitch.

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It was the England skipper’s 67th – yes, you read that right – goal for club and country this season, and Three Lions supporters will hope there’s plenty more to come.

Remarkably, Kane finished the first half with just two touches inside New Zealand’s 18-yard box, one of which was his header that flew past Crocombe.

England’s Second Half

James Trafford was practically a spectator for the entire second half which, for a goalkeeper, is not the worst thing.

Trafford’s relaxing afternoon in Tampa was aided by a solid defensive display from Reece James, Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Tino Livramento, who were rarely troubled.

Burn had a good chance to add a second but could only direct his header against the post while Konsa shook off a small knock late in the contest.

Holding midfielders Elliot Anderson and Nico O’Reilly kept the ball ticking along and covered ground well.

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Jude Bellingham also logged some important minutes, with Durham describing his performance as ‘decent’.

Not long after signing for Barcelona, Anthony Gordon brought positive energy on the left with some driving runs at New Zealand’s defence.

Ivan Toney had a shout for a penalty, only for it to be ruled out because he was offside.

The biggest shining light of the second half, and perhaps the entire contest, was Ngumoha.

Even though it was his debut, the Liverpool winger was not overawed by the occasion.

Whether it was through sheer trickery or his short and sharp bursts of speed, Ngumoha always looked to beat his man.

Such was the youngster’s performance, Durham believed Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke ‘are lucky to be in the squad’ ahead of him.