Thieves stole essential training equipment from an England national football team transport vehicle in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday, June 12, 2026, just before the squad's scheduled arrival for the FIFA World Cup.
The Kansas City Missouri Police Department confirmed that officers launched an investigation on Friday night after the team vehicle arrived at its destination with multiple items missing, according to a police spokesperson.
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The incident occurred while the gear was being transported from the team's pre-tournament training base in Florida to their official World Cup base camp at Swope Soccer Village in Missouri, as reported by the Guardian.
The Football Association is currently working to determine the exact inventory of the missing items, though official tournament balls and personalized match boots belonging to England's star players are feared to have been taken.
Local authorities have already made two arrests in connection with the vehicle break-in, according to information obtained by the BBC.
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The unexpected logistics headache comes as manager Thomas Tuchel prepares his squad for their opening Group L match against Croatia, which is scheduled to take place in Dallas on Wednesday.
The England squad is still scheduled to arrive at their Kansas City base on Saturday afternoon, with their first full day of training at Swope Soccer Village pushed to Sunday.
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Prior to the incident, England completed a successful acclimatization camp in West Palm Beach, Florida, where they secured friendly victories against New Zealand in Tampa and Costa Rica in Orlando.
