England's preparations for the Women's World Cup suffered blow as New Zealand earned a surprise 1-0 win on Saturday.

Phil Neville's side fly to France next week rated as one of the leading contenders to win the tournament.

But former Manchester United defender Neville will know they must improve quickly to live up to that billing after Sarah Gregorius fired New Zealand to victory in the second half at Brighton's Amex Stadium.

England's women will begin their World Cup campaign on June 9 in the Group D opener against Scotland in Nice.

New Zealand, who start their bid for World Cup glory on June 11 against the Netherlands, have a further warm-up game against Wales in Cardiff on Tuesday.

Neville made 10 changes from last weekend's 2-0 win over Denmark for the final fixture of the 'Road to France Series'.

Nikita Parris, who opened the scoring against the Danes, was the only player retained, while captain Steph Houghton, Champions League-winning Lyon defender Lucy Bronze and Barcelona forward Toni Duggan were among those brought in.

Jodie Taylor was denied a ninth-minute penalty after replays suggested she may have been brought down by Erin Nayler as she tried to get a shot away following poor distribution from the New Zealand goalkeeper.

But, in front of a crowd of just over 20,000, New Zealand stunned England by opening the scoring five minutes after the restart.

Lionesses keeper Carly Telford failed to hold a drive from Rosie White and Gregorius was on hand to tap in the rebound from close-range.