England head coach Thomas Tuchel must end his pre-World Cup trials immediately.

Tuchel continued testing his choices on Saturday by deploying two different sides, one per half, in a low-stakes friendly versus New Zealand amid Tampa's intense heat.

The countdown advances toward England's first World Cup match against Croatia in Dallas on 17 June.

After the Tampa encounter, Tuchel ought to show more of the lineup he intends to rely on.

It made sense for Tuchel to grant the squad valuable time on the pitch in demanding, energy-draining weather.

The outcome was a 1-0 victory - with Harry Kane scoring once more - that resembled an extended practice session presented as an international fixture.

This marked the first occasion since June 2004, when England met Iceland ahead of the European Championship in Portugal, that 22 distinct players featured in one game.

England face Costa Rica in Orlando on Wednesday in their last warm-up before the World Cup - and that is when Tuchel can field his strongest selection.

Tuchel's recent choices have fallen short of a probable World Cup starting eleven. In Tampa he lacked vital Arsenal players and probable starters Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, who rested after their Premier League title success and the Champions League final defeat to Paris St-Germain.

"In perspective, many of our players last appeared together in November," Tuchel noted. "That is six months earlier. We held four joint sessions, then altered the side entirely."

Tuchel must accept part of the blame for the position, after selecting experimental teams in the run-up to these final sessions, such as the friendlies against Uruguay and Japan at Wembley in March.

Manchester City's Phil Foden operated as striker versus Japan. Against Uruguay, Tuchel started Foden, Everton's James Garner and Spurs forward Dominic Solanke. None of them entered his World Cup squad.

Ivan Toney entered in the second half in Tampa after a year away from the England setup, following a brief three-minute outing in the friendly loss to Senegal at the City Ground, Nottingham.

This makes it even more vital that Tuchel fields a side against Costa Rica as near as possible to the one that will meet Croatia. It offers a chance to gain rhythm, momentum and understanding ahead of the tournament opener.

Tuchel at least confirmed no injuries from the opening warm-up, adding: "The stronger the opponent becomes, the stronger we become."

Kane's goal arrived just before the interval, prompting wholesale changes, yet Tuchel remarked: "I preferred the second half. We showed greater hunger and intent. We performed better yet failed to score.

"We did not follow our approach in the first half. It reduced the tempo, but the second period improved.

"We will adjust to the humidity and sun during our stay. Tomorrow is a recovery day, then we have two days to prepare for Costa Rica. A number of players will then receive further minutes. The Arsenal players arrive now, which adds energy and quality, followed by another one and a half days off.

"We then head to Kansas and prepare for Croatia."

Despite all the variations Tuchel tried against New Zealand, one clear fact endures for England: Kane remains central to their World Cup hopes.

He nodded the winner seconds before the break, his 79th international goal in 113 caps.

Once more the captain delivered the decisive moment and England look different without him.

In the Costa Rica friendly, Tuchel can shape central defensive pairings, where John Stones received 45 minutes alongside Marc Guehi versus New Zealand. That came after an injury-affected final campaign at Manchester City for Stones.

Tuchel may also clarify who will occupy the debated number 10 position.

It is a direct contest between Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham. Rogers started this friendly, yet nothing can be inferred as Bellingham wore the captain's armband in the second half.

On the teams, Tuchel stated after the match there were "no hidden signals".

Ollie Watkins and Toney, who each played a half, did little to indicate they will be anything beyond backups to Kane, as anticipated, while Tuchel would have welcomed Chelsea's Reece James completing 45 minutes at right-back, where he looks set to start at the World Cup.

Little of real consequence emerged, yet Tuchel would have wanted a more convincing display against a side ranked 85th globally, with England creating few chances, although Liverpool's 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha produced a bright second-half showing.

He travels with England in the United States but is not in the World Cup squad. By becoming the fifth youngest player to appear for the Three Lions, he gave Tuchel notable options should injuries arise before the tournament begins.