World Cup 2026: Stolen England training equipment recovered

England recovered most of the stolen training equipment before it arrived in Kansas City on Saturday.

Sources confirmed that items taken after vehicles transporting equipment to the Swope Football Village base in Kansas City were broken into were returned.

Thomas Tuchel and his team will arrive in Kansas City on Saturday afternoon and the equipment had to be ready in advance.

Police officers in contact with the FA were at the scene of the incident on Friday night.

It was learned that 2 people were detained regarding the incident.

A Kansas City Police spokesperson said before the equipment was recovered: “We are investigating a possible theft of equipment from a squad vehicle that arrived in Kansas City this evening with items missing. The investigation is ongoing.”

The theft occurred as Tuchel’s team began preparations for their World Cup opener against Croatia on Wednesday (21:00 BST).

Former England defender Phil Jagielka told BBC Sport: “We have a lot of boots available throughout the season, but for the tournament a lot of them will be personalized.”

“Many of them may have their own insoles. Then you can choose whether or not you want to have the flag, your initials, your children’s names. [names]Nicknames… All this would have been done months in advance.”

England players will have their first full day of training on Sunday.