England recover stolen World Cup kit after Kane's boots and Tuchel's tactical board go missing

Several items of England’s World Cup training equipment — including Harry Kane’s boots, Jude Bellingham’s boots, official tournament balls and Thomas Tuchel’s tactical whiteboards — were stolen from a team vehicle during the journey to England’s World Cup base in Missouri, before being recovered, sources told The Athletic.

Kansas City police confirmed two suspects were taken into custody after the gear disappeared somewhere along the 1,238-mile, 20-hour road trip from England’s pre-tournament camp in West Palm Beach, Florida, to Kansas City. “We are investigating a possible theft of equipment from a team vehicle that arrived in Kansas City with items missing,” a police spokesman said. “Two subjects of interest were taken into custody pending further investigation. The investigation is ongoing.”

The FA was liaising with Kansas City police to assist the investigation and was sourcing replacement kit ahead of England’s first training session at Swope Soccer Village in Missouri. At the time of the theft, only one ball remained on the vehicle.

Kane had been spotted wearing a pair of red, white and blue Nike boots during a training session in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, just four days earlier, and wore the same pair in England’s 3-0 friendly victory over Costa Rica on Wednesday. The stolen boots were among the personal match-day equipment the squad had packed following their warm-up camp in Florida, which also included friendly wins over New Zealand and local side Miami United.

The missing haul also included analysis equipment and massage tables — a significant logistical blow to England’s preparations as the tournament build-up began in earnest. Tuchel’s whiteboards, used for tactical briefings, were among the items taken.

Kane arrives at the tournament in exceptional form, having scored 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern Munich this season and eight in eight appearances for England, bringing his combined total to 69 across all competitions — a remarkable 143 goals in 146 appearances for the German club.

A worker at the Swope Soccer Village complex told the Mirror that staff had spent three months preparing the pitch ahead of England’s arrival, with security in place days before the squad touched down.