Thomas Tuchel — German, not American — walked out to the mound at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday and threw a strike. Every baseball-raised local in Kansas City had to sit with that for a moment.
The ceremonial first pitch ahead of the Kansas City Royals' 14-6 dismantling of the St. Louis Cardinals was one of those moments that's genuinely fun rather than performative. Harry Kane and several England players were in the stands for it. The Royals — whose Twitter bio helpfully clarifies they are "the baseball team, not the British family" — put on a show that probably won a few new English fans over.
England mean business in Kansas City
The backdrop to the baseball night out is what actually matters. England opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 4-2 win over Croatia on Wednesday, and the performance was good enough to make that scoreline feel routine rather than flattering. If they keep that up, Kansas City could be their home until July 19 — the date of the final.
Kane said it plainly earlier this week: "For sure it's one of the best opportunities we will have as a team to win it." He's not wrong. At 31, this is almost certainly his last shot at a World Cup with his legs fully under him. England's squad depth and Tuchel's organisation make them genuine contenders, not just sentimental favourites.
The history is what it is — one World Cup title, back in 1966, and 11 tournaments of near-misses since. Croatia knocked them out in the 2018 semifinal. France ended it in the 2022 quarterfinals. The burden of that record doesn't disappear, but the odds of it ending here are shorter than they've been in decades. Anyone backing England to lift the trophy is getting a team that looks settled, structured, and — based on Wednesday — capable of hurting good sides.
Ghana next, then potentially harder tests
Next up is Group L's matchup with Ghana at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, June 23. A win there and England are through to the knockouts in convincing fashion. The group stage odds are almost a formality at this point — what happens in the last eight is the real question.
For now, though: Tuchel threw a strike, Kane watched the Royals win big, and England look like they've settled into their World Cup base with genuine intent rather than tourist energy. A good sign, all of it.
