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Thomas Tuchel expressed disappointment over England’s disorganised first-half performance against New Zealand, even though his side secured a hard-fought victory in sweltering conditions as part of their World Cup build-up.

After arriving in Florida earlier in the week for a warm-weather training camp, England continued their preparations on Saturday with the first of two friendly matches in the United States.

As planned, Tuchel made wholesale changes at half-time during the match in Tampa. England had taken the lead just before the break when Harry Kane expertly turned in Djed Spence’s cross during stoppage time.

That goal turned out to be the only one of the game at the sparsely attended Raymond James Stadium. Tuchel, however, was more satisfied with his team’s performance in the second half after being left unhappy with their earlier approach.

“I’m OK with it,” said the England manager following the 1-0 win. “I’m not super happy about it. I liked the second half more than the first half.

“We had more bite in the second half, were more aggressive with and without the ball, and created more opportunities. There were some good half chances and promising runs into the box.

“We played more from our positions, and that’s why the game had more pace.”

Tuchel elaborated further: “In the first half, we were out of position and played a bit too much freestyle.

“That slowed our play down and made counter-pressing difficult because we weren’t in the right positions when we began attacking. That’s basically the story of the game.

“To put things in perspective, many of our players last played together in November — about six months ago. We’ve only had four training sessions together, and we completely mixed the team to give everyone 45 minutes each in new combinations and formations.

“Considering the conditions and the pitch, it can look like this.”

Tuchel admitted he was pleased that his players experienced the “really, really hot” weather on Saturday after training in rain and overcast conditions at their West Palm Beach base earlier in the week.

The England boss was also relieved that his players came through the uneven surface at Tampa without injuries, with their next friendly against Costa Rica scheduled in Orlando on Wednesday.

“It was very difficult to play on,” Tuchel said. “I don’t think it was dangerous in terms of injuries.

“We’ve got no injuries and no concerns, but the surface was very uneven. It made it hard to control and move the ball quickly.

“When you dominate possession for most of the match, that doesn’t help you.”

England were widely expected to defeat New Zealand, the lowest-ranked team at the World Cup, yet their English coach Darren Bazeley remarked that his country still needed improvement to succeed later this summer.

“I think for most teams, including England today, the first friendly is about getting everyone some minutes, acclimatising, and getting the legs going before the World Cup,” Bazeley said.

“England were good today, but they’ll need to be better if they want to win the World Cup. Winning is always positive, but there’s still room for improvement.

“This match gave players 45 minutes each, and they’ve got others returning who aren’t quite ready yet.”