England’s preparations for the World Cup were affected by a theft of training equipment before the team even arrived at their base in Kansas City. According to goalkeeper Dean Henderson, at least part of the material has already been recovered.
Balls and boots were taken from a vehicle transporting the uniforms to the Swope Soccer Village, the English training center, according to the BBC.
The English Football Association confirmed the incident to the British news agency Press Association, but said it would not provide any further information and that the case is under investigation by local police.
“We are investigating a possible theft of equipment from a vehicle that arrived in Kansas City this evening [de sábado] without some objects,” said the American city’s police department.
Also according to the BBC, there were two arrests related to the case.
England arrived in the city this Saturday, after playing their last friendly in preparation for the World Cup, against Costa Rica, in Florida.
After the first training session in the city, goalkeeper Dean Henderson confirmed that his boots have already been recovered. “Yes [o material foi furtado]but they returned it to me. I think they got everything back. So that’s fine,” he said, after being asked about the theft, implying that at least a good part of the stolen items had been recovered.
England debuts in the World Cup on Wednesday (17), against Croatia, in Dallas, Texas, in a match for Group L, which also includes Ghana and Panama.
BAD WEATHER
Kansas City, which also hosts Argentina, the Netherlands and Algeria during the World Cup period, was also the scene of a storm this Saturday night (13). There was even a tornado warning.
According to a statement from local authorities, winds could reach up to 130km/h. The text also urged the population to seek shelter. Trees fell and there was no electricity. The baseball match between the Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros, in the MLB (the sport’s main league in the USA) was interrupted for an hour and a half due to weather conditions.
Missouri’s largest city will host six World Cup matches. The first of them is between Argentina and Algeria, in Group J, on Tuesday (16). There is a storm forecast for the early hours of the 17th, after the match which starts at 8pm local time (10pm in Brasília).
