England have reportedly fallen victim to a brazen World Cup theft ahead of their opening clash against Croatia next week, with players’ boots and vital training equipment said to have been ‘stolen in transit. ‘ The Three Lions relocated their training base from West Palm Beach in Florida to Swope Soccer Village in Missouri, when the alleged raid is understood to have occurred.
The Daily Mail reports that official tournament footballs and essential training kit have gone missing, leaving backroom staff in a frantic search for replacements. England will be calling Swope Soccer Village home for the next three weeks as they bid to progress beyond the group stage.
Express Sport understands two arrests have been made and a police investigation is ongoing. The FA have been approached for comment.
Thomas Tuchel’s side were due to train in Kansas City for the first time on Saturday, June 13, though an investigation is now under way to establish exactly what has been taken. According to the report, just a single football was left behind following the theft, while unconfirmed claims suggest the boots of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and others have also been taken.
It represents a significant setback for England’s tournament preparations, particularly given the encouraging pre-competition camp they had enjoyed in Miami.
An inquiry is ongoing to establish precisely what equipment remains, with the FA said to be working alongside local police in a bid to recover the stolen items.
The report suggests that England staff carefully packed vital equipment ahead of the move to Missouri, including analysis gear, Tuchel’s whiteboards and massage tables, only to be left stunned when the items failed to arrive in Kansas City.
Staff are now frantically working to source replacement equipment before Tuchel’s squad takes to the training pitch later today.
Tuchel had been buoyed by England’s preparations in Miami, having secured victories over Costa Rica 3-0 and Miami FC 6-0 in a behind-closed-doors friendly.
“We get some minutes into the legs – game minutes, not training minutes – for the three players who didn’t play, for the guys who came for just 22 minutes plus extra time,” the England boss said.
“We can manage that. We can manage the game time. It will very likely be not more than two x 30 minutes or something like this.
“Then the players get one and a half days off, not only physically but also mentally to switch off. Well deserved.
“Then we start the next chunk of the tournament, which is the group stage, and we change location, which I’m looking forward to – not because we didn’t like it here (in Florida), it was excellent here and at the highest level.
“But it is nice to change scenery and give it a new frame for the next period of the tournament, which is then full focus on the group stage.”