John Stones says England’s first pre-World Cup friendly in the US will be part of a “progression” when they face fellow finals participants New Zealand in Tampa on Saturday.
England meet Costa Rica in Orlando four days later, then take on familiar opponents Croatia in their tournament opener on June 17 (21:00 BST).
“For us as lads, it’s a chance to get used to each other out there on the pitch, create connections and take what we do during the weeks leading up to those first games out from the training pitch,” Stones told England’s official channel.
“The weather’s been a bit strange. We’ve settled in well and it’s good to be here. The manager’s set out from the start to have incredible players and incredible people as well, to have that bond.”
New Zealand beat New Caledonia in March 2025 to go a 28th match unbeaten in Oceanian qualifying and reach the World Cup for a third time, after 1982 and 2010.
Ranked 75th in the world, they were beaten 4-0 by 81st-placed Haiti in Miami on Wednesday in a performance described by head coach Darren Bazeley as lacking “effectiveness and ruthlessness”.
“We’ve defended very well for a number of games in the last few years and haven’t conceded four goals, haven’t conceded goals like that,” reflected Bazeley, whose side had been in Florida for a week and will take on Iran in their first match of the World Cup on June 16 (02:00).
“It’s a real harsh lesson, especially with England and then the World Cup games coming up. We worked hard but we lacked quality in moments.”
England v New Zealand team news
Right-back Ben White was recalled by England in March but will miss the finals with a serious knee injury.
Centre-back Stones’ fitness is in doubt after missing much of his final season at Manchester City with issues, including a calf injury that kept the 32-year-old out until mid-April.
Midfielder Declan Rice and forwards Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke could be rested after taking part in Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last Saturday.
Training squad members Alex Scott, Rio Ngumoha, Josh King, Jason Steele and Ethan Nwaneri are not eligible to play at the World Cup but could make their England debuts in the warm-up matches.
Record 45-goal New Zealand scorer Chris Wood returned from a severe knee injury for Nottingham Forest in April and played for 60 minutes against Haiti.
Influential right-back Tim Payne missed two months of the season with a broken collarbone and has had two minor hamstring issues since then.
Sarpreet Singh suffered a significant knee injury in February but has been deemed fit enough to join the squad, playing the first half against Haiti.
