Ivan Toney scores hat-trick in England friendly win over Sporting
Short overview
Ivan Toney scored a hat-trick as England beat Sporting Kansas City 5-1 in a behind-closed-doors friendly. Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins also scored, with the match giving minutes to squad members not heavily used in the World Cup win over Croatia.
Ivan Toney scored a hat-trick as England recorded a comprehensive 5-1 victory over Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City in a practice match on Thursday. The game, played behind closed doors at England's Swope Soccer Village training facility, featured players not used in Wednesday's World Cup 4-2 win over Croatia and squad members who did not play significant minutes in Dallas.
Match details and scorers
Toney, the Brentford striker, netted three times, while Aston Villa duo Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins also found the target. The match was broken up into two halves of around 25 minutes each, allowing England's coaching staff to manage player workloads effectively.
Players involved
Jordan Henderson, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, Dan Burn, Kobbie Mainoo, Djed Spence and Jarell Quansah were among the other players involved in the training game. The Football Association had arranged the friendly to get minutes into certain players' legs, as revealed by BBC Sport on Tuesday.
Post-match schedule and team activities
Having arrived back from Dallas at around 10.30pm local time on Wednesday, England players were afforded most of Thursday off. Players were allowed to see family and friends immediately after the Group L game against Croatia, and loved ones were given access into the camp on Thursday to spend time with the team before they start preparations for next Tuesday's game against Ghana in Boston (21:00 BST).
Captain Harry Kane and manager Thomas Tuchel were among a group of players and staff that attended a baseball game between Kansas City Royals and St Louis Cardinals later on Thursday. Tuchel's complaints have previously led to Fifa moving photographers, and former England striker Gary Lineker has called Kane England's greatest striker.
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