England gear stolen in Kansas City; chef's knives also cause pre-World Cup disruption

Equipment stolen in transit

A vehicle transporting England's training equipment from their pre-tournament base in Florida to Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City was broken into on Friday evening, leaving boots, balls and other items missing. The squad arrived on Saturday for their first open session at the same facility.

“We are investigating a possible theft of equipment from a team vehicle that arrived in Kansas City with items missing this evening.”

Police recover most gear, two arrested

Kansas City police took two subjects of interest into custody on Friday night and later recovered the majority of the stolen equipment. A department spokesperson, Sgt Phil DiMartino, confirmed the investigation is ongoing. The Football Association called the theft a police matter and noted the missing items were not irreplaceable. Mayor Quinton Lucas said officials at local, state and federal levels were working to trace where exactly the goods were taken and to identify all possible suspects.

Chef's train journey blocked

In a separate incident earlier in the week, the team's chef was prevented from boarding a Brightline train at West Palm Beach station after kitchen knives in his luggage triggered a security alert. Florida rail rules prohibit weapons of any type. The chef made alternative travel arrangements and the situation was resolved amicably, according to reports.

Squad settles in, eyes on Croatia

Despite the off-field distractions, England captain Harry Kane said preparation for Wednesday's World Cup opener against Croatia had been "top drawer". The team won both friendlies in Florida, against New Zealand and Costa Rica. Kane described the training, recovery and team togetherness as "at the highest level".

“Croatia are a difficult team. They proved in the last two World Cups especially that they can be one of the best teams in the tournament and we have to be ready for that.”

Manager Thomas Tuchel, whose side arrived to a couple of hundred fans at their hotel, said the squad was "acclimatized" and "ready to go". The first open training session in Kansas City was threatened by heavy thunderstorms on Saturday. England then faces Ghana in Boston on 23 June and Panama in New York/New Jersey.

“We have been exposed to enough heat. We're in a good place.”