England's World Cup Journey Takes a Detour to the Ballpark; "Three Lions" Also Play Friendly

England's national team manager, Thomas Tuchel, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Major League Baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals went on to win 14-6. The German tactician, who had led England to a 4-2 victory over Croatia in their World Cup opener just 24 hours prior, used his free time to attend the Kansas City baseball team's home game. Several England players were also in attendance, including captain Harry Kane and defenders Jed Spence and Dan Burn. For Kane, who left the Croatia match with a bandaged leg, yesterday was a day for recovery and rest, but for many of the England internationals, it was utilized for active preparation.

The "Three Lions" played a friendly match against local side Sporting Kansas City, with the game structured into two 22-minute halves. Despite the shortened duration, the English footballers managed to score five times, securing a 5-1 victory. Ivan Toney bagged a hat-trick, while the other two goals came from Aston Villa stars Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers. "The match was great for the lads who didn't get much playing time against Croatia. I think it was a good test. Thanks to Sporting, they showed a very high level and scored a beautiful goal from a direct free-kick. We knew we could score a few goals, which we did, but this test was exactly what we needed," Harry Kane told local television station Fox 4 News.