Thomas Tuchel threw the first pitch at Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals, just over 24 hours after England’s 4-2 World Cup win over Croatia in Dallas. The manager was joined by captain Harry Kane and defenders Dan Burn and Djed Spence for the ceremonial moment—a rare downtime for a squad still buzzing from their opening victory.
Kane, who scored twice against Croatia, shared his experience on social media: “Great recovery day with the boys at the baseball. Would love to give batting a go one day! Thanks for having us @Royals.” The Bayern Munich forward played the full match in Dallas and was rested for the behind-closed-doors friendly against Major League Soccer side Sporting KC.
“Thomas Tuchel threw a ceremonial first pitch as Ivan Toney scored a hat-trick in a friendly win.”
That practice match, held at England’s Swope Soccer Village training facility, gave minutes to squad members who didn’t feature significantly against Croatia. Ivan Toney scored a hat-trick, while Aston Villa duo Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins also found the net in a comprehensive 5-1 victory. The game was split into two halves of around 25 minutes each, arranged by the Football Association to ensure players got valuable game time.
Burn, Jordan Henderson, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, Kobbie Mainoo, Spence and Jarell Quansah were among those involved. England players arrived back from Dallas at around 10.30pm local time on Wednesday and were afforded most of Thursday off. Loved ones were given access to the camp to spend time with the team before preparations begin for next Tuesday’s group game against Ghana in Boston.