England continued their preparations after the win over Croatia, with Thomas Tuchel’s side playing a friendly against Sporting KC in the United States.
England’s stars played a friendly behind closed doors against Sporting KC and the team trained together (Image: England/X)
England beat Sporting KC 5-1 behind closed doors on Thursday, their second win in as many days. The Three Lions didn’t stop after their win over Croatia just 24 hours ago.
For those who did not feature in England’s 4-2 win, it was an opportunity to stake their claim for Tuesday’s game against Ghana. Striker Ivan Toney took advantage of the time to score a hat-trick, while Aston Villa stars Morgan Rodgers and Ollie Watkins also scored.
This is the second time Tony has scored a hat-trick behind closed doors. England had previously defeated Miami FC before the start of the World Cup.
In addition to Rodgers, Marc Gehi was another player who received minutes against Croatia and appeared in the training ground match. The Manchester City defender was substituted by John Stones three minutes before full-time.
Eberechi Eze and Dan Byrne were also among the players reported to have played on Thursday. Jarrell Quansah, Koby Mainu and Jordan Henderson also appeared to be involved.
This result will be further boosted by the addition of new members to the squad by German coach Thomas Tuchel. The German manager, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Royals, saw Trevor Chalobah arrive to add to his numbers.
The Chelsea defender was called up following an injury to Newcastle full-back Tino Libramento. The former Southampton ace’s World Cup dreams ended after he suffered a problem during training.
Chalova was not brought in as a direct replacement for Libramento, but as a central defender who can also play on the right flank. The decision came as a surprise to some people.
Trevor Chalobah called up to England World Cup squad
Sign up now for the Make Football Great Again newsletter and get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox!
Former England striker Wayne Rooney expected Luke Shaw to provide further cover on the flank. “It’s a little weird,” Rooney said.
“I wanted to see Luke Shaw, and Jed Spence could be a cover for Reece James and Luke Shaw could come in.
“But I’m sure Thomas Tuchel kept in touch with the players who were available, and I’m sure he (Cialova) was one of the players who were available.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Upgrade your World Cup TV setup with Sky Glass ‘designed for soccer’
From £4.50
sky
Get the deal here
Sky is marking the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup by reducing prices by 20% on its entire range of glass TVs. Until June 17, shoppers can upgrade to a Sky smart TV ‘designed for football’ from £4.50 a month when taken with a Sky TV and Netflix package.
