England have recovered the majority of the training equipment stolen before their arrival in Kansas City on Saturday – a theft that occurred as Thomas Tuchel’s side began preparations for their World Cup opener against Croatia.
Vehicles transferring equipment to the Swope Soccer Village base were broken into after the squad left Miami. The items, including personalised boots and balls, were taken while in transit, with the kit due to be in place before the team’s arrival.
“England recover majority of stolen training equipment in Kansas City; two arrests made.”
Police officers, in touch with the Football Association, were on site Friday night dealing with the incident. Two arrests have since been made, with Kansas police confirming suspects are in custody.
The theft prompted concern over the loss of specially made boots. Former England defender Phil Jagielka told BBC Sport: “We have plenty of pairs of boots throughout the season, but for the tournament a lot of them will have them personalised. A lot of them may have their own special insoles. Then you could choose whether to have the flag, your initials, your kids’ [names], nicknames... All this would have been done months in advance.”
Tuchel’s squad will undertake their first full training day on Sunday, ahead of Wednesday’s 21:00 BST kick-off against Croatia.