England striker Ivan Toney strengthened his case for more playing time by scoring a hat-trick in a behind-closed-doors friendly match against Sporting Kansas City on Thursday.

The Three Lions began their World Cup campaign in thrilling fashion on Wednesday, with captain Harry Kane netting twice in a 4-2 victory over Croatia. The win puts England in a strong position to top Group L, with upcoming fixtures against Ghana and Panama next week.

After the Croatia match, England flew back from Dallas and arrived at their Kansas City training base early on Wednesday morning. The players who started the opener were given a recovery day, while the remaining squad members participated in open training and a training-ground match against Major League Soccer side Sporting KC.

Toney led the scoring with three goals in a 5-1 triumph, while Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers also found the back of the net. Both Watkins and Toney had remained unused substitutes in Dallas, whereas Rogers featured for around 20 minutes in the second half.

Defender Trevoh Chalobah, recently called up as a late replacement for the injured Tino Livramento, was not involved in the friendly as he continues his fitness work in the gym.

Elsewhere in Kansas City, England manager Thomas Tuchel briefly stepped away from football duties to throw the ceremonial first pitch for the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The England boss was joined by captain Harry Kane and defenders Dan Burn and Djed Spence, who watched as Tuchel delivered the pitch to Royals manager Matt Quatraro before the Major League Baseball game against the St Louis Cardinals.