As if trying to win a World Cup isn't hard enough, England had to face an unexpected hurdle this week.
The England national team faced the loss of a bunch of training equipment and uniforms ahead of their debut at the 2026 World Cup. The national team guided by Thomas Tuchel will meet Croatia on Wednesday, June 17 before facing Ghana and then Panama, but before their first match at the summer tournament they had to face a quite strange story as several units of training equipment were stolen from a team vehicle in Kansas City, according to multiple reports.
The theft occurred while England's training equipment was being transported from the Three Lions' pre-World Cup base in Florida to Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, according to the Athletic, where Harry Kane and his teammates are set to begin their training camp on Saturday ahead of their World Cup opener against Croatia that will take place in Dallas. As the FA logistical team was setting up the new base, the items were stolen from a van which was still to be unloaded. Most of the items have reportedly since been recovered.
According to multiple reports, balls and boots are among the stolen items, while the local police have confirmed the incident as reported by The Athletic. "We are investigating a possible theft of equipment from a team vehicle that arrived in Kansas City with items missing this evening. The investigation is ongoing. Two subjects of interest were taken into custody pending further investigation."
2022 World Cup winners Argentina and Netherlands have also chosen Kansas City as their new base. While the side coached by Lionel Scaloni will use Sporting KC's facilities, the Dutch team will train at the NWSL Kansas City Current's training center.
