Thomas Tuchel swapped the dugout for the mound as the England boss threw the first pitch for the Kansas City Royals the night after opening the World Cup with an impressive win.
Just over 24 hours after watching his side open their campaign with a 4-2 victory over Croatia, Tuchel went to Kauffman Stadium to perform the ceremonial act.
Captain Harry Kane and defenders Dan Burn and Djed Spence were watching their boss throw the ball to Royals manager Matt Quatraro ahead of the MLB clash with the St Louis Cardinals.
Kane is no stranger to finding the strike zone, taking his World Cup tally to 10 goals with a double against Croatia, and as a keen fan of American sports, he would like to do it with a bat in hand.
‘Great recovery day with the boys at the baseball,’ he said on social media.
Thomas Tuchel throws the ceremonial first pitch at Kansas City Royals baseball overnight
Dan Burn and Harry Kane applaud their manager’s efforts at the Kauffman Stadium
Burn and Tuchel looks to enjoy the game from the stands – and were decked out in KC kit
‘Would love to give batting a go one day! Thanks for having us @Royals.’
Kane, who was pictured leaving the AT&T Stadium in Dallas with his left leg bandaged, had a low-key recovery day.
‘He got a strike, so fair play to him,’ Kane, who has thrown out a first pitch at Yankees and Cubs games, told KansasCity.com
‘It’s not easy. It’s actually… that was the first time I’ve been up mound in 12 years, so you forget how far away it actually is.
‘So, watching the professionals do it, and they’re launching that ball at 90, 100 miles per hour, it’s pretty impressive. So the boss has done pretty well. I’ll give him that. He was a little nervous before.’
He added: ‘We really appreciate it.
‘I can say, for us to come here and get the treatment that we have already is obviously great. And I’m not sure where we’re sitting, but I’m sure the seats will be great, as well. So, yeah, all we can say is thank you to them.’
Burn, Kane, Djed Spence and Tuchel pose with mascot Sluggerrr and Matt Quatraro, manager of Kansas City Royals
Tuchel and Kane looked in relaxed mood after winning their World Cup opener against Croatia
The England manager put the rows of Wednesday behind him at the baseball
Those who did not feature against Croatia played in a behind-closed-doors friendly against MLS side Sporting KC.
Ivan Toney scored a hat-trick and Aston Villa duo Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins got on the scoresheet as England ran out 5-1 winners in a short game consisting of two periods of 22 minutes.
Kane said on local TV station FOX4 News Kansas City: ‘It was great, great for the guys who didn’t get enough minutes yesterday to top up the tank.
‘It was a good test. Thanks for Sporting for doing the game, I thought they held themselves to a great standard, got a nice free-kick goal themselves.
‘From a football point of view, we knew it would be a game where we could score a few goals, which we did, but they put a good test in and we got out of it exactly what we needed.’
After Wednesday’s stunning winning, captain Kane says he hopes ‘Wonderwall’ can become the soundtrack of the summer as England plot their way to World Cup glory.
England’s victorious players celebrated in front of their fans in Dallas while Oasis hit ‘Wonderwall’ blared out around the AT&T Stadium.
Kane, who appeared emotional during the singalong, will savour the moment and wants fans to keep rolling with it as they aim to achieve their masterplan of winning the World Cup.
‘That was one of my favourite ever moments in an England shirt and especially at a major tournament,’ he said on the Lions Den.
Burn, Spence, Kane and Tuchel pose with special England-themed baseball shirts
The England manager accepted the applause of the crowd after his first pitch attempt
‘I know it’s just the first game, and we’re not getting carried away, but just that emotional connection with the fans, we know how much it means to them.
‘I think they see how much it means to us.
‘We have that connection right now, but just that moment, singing ‘Wonderwall’ in the stadium, everyone knew the words, and that was a really special moment, I thought.
‘As first games go, to have that kind of support from everyone, and we know back home is the same.
‘We know there would be plenty of beer getting thrown around, with it being a night game, so we love that stuff.
‘All the squad are fans, we’ve grown up watching England. We’ve grown up in those environments, and to be on the other side now doesn’t mean that we’re disconnected.
‘It just means that we’re trying to give the fans now special moments, like Wednesday. So, hopefully, we can have a few more.’
