England World Cup Team Reports Theft of Training Equipment in Kansas City
England's World Cup preparations were disrupted by the theft of training equipment, including match boots and official tournament balls, in Kansas City. The incident occurred Friday as team staff were in transit from Florida to their training base at Swope Soccer Village. Police have apprehended two individuals, and an investigation into the broken-into vehicles is ongoing as the team arrived for training.
England's World Cup team experienced a theft of training equipment in Kansas City on Friday, prior to their arrival at their designated training base. Items reported stolen include the team’s match boots and official tournament balls.
The incident took place as team staff were in transit from their pre-tournament base in Florida to the Swope Soccer Village in Missouri. Vehicles carrying the equipment were reportedly broken into, while the players traveled separately and were due to arrive on Saturday.
Local police are investigating the theft and have confirmed that two individuals have been apprehended in connection with the incident. "We are investigating a possible theft of equipment from a team vehicle that arrived in Kansas City with items missing this evening," police stated, adding that two subjects of interest were taken into custody pending further investigation.
The team was scheduled to have its first full day of training in Kansas City on Sunday, in preparation for their opening match of the tournament against Croatia, set to be played in Dallas on Wednesday.
Kansas City has proven to be a popular training location for several World Cup teams, with holders Argentina, along with the Netherlands and Algeria, also based in the area for the duration of the tournament.
Prior to the incident, England, managed by Thomas Tuchel, had played two warm-up friendlies in the United States, facing New Zealand and Costa Rica in Florida to aid acclimatization. They secured a 3-0 victory against Costa Rica in Orlando, with Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Declan Rice participating. The team also played a behind-closed-doors match against local side Miami United FC, winning 6-0, featuring a hat-trick from Ivan Toney, and goals from Jordan Henderson, Rio Ngumoha, and Ethan Nwaneri. Ngumoha and Nwaneri, not part of the final 26-man squad, flew home before the squad traveled to Kansas City.
According to Yahoo Sports Soccer, the investigation into the theft is ongoing.
