Two men charged after England World Cup van raided of $18,000 in kit and memorabilia

Two men have been charged with receiving stolen property following a theft from an England team van in the United States, with prosecutors in Jackson County releasing a full list of the stolen items ahead of the side’s World Cup opener against Croatia.

The alleged theft occurred as England’s backroom staff packed equipment for the journey from their training camp in West Palm Beach to their World Cup base in Kansas City. Staff were reportedly shocked when the gear failed to arrive at its destination.

The Jackson County Prosecutor’s office confirmed 14 categories of items — approximately 26 individual pieces — were taken, with a combined value of around $18,000 (£14,500). Among the most valuable were three signed shirts: one red valued at $5,000 (£3,700) and two white shirts valued at $10,000 (£7,500) in total. The haul also included a World Cup match ball, a pair of goalkeeper gloves, assorted training kit, two stuffed lions, a JBL speaker, a Nike Air shoe Lego set, and multifunctional power strips.

All items have since been recovered ahead of England’s opening group game against Croatia on Thursday. The squad also face Ghana and Panama in the group stage. England concluded their public preparations with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica and a behind-closed-doors 6-0 victory over Miami FC.

Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson said her office moved swiftly to bring charges. “Jackson County will not tolerate any criminal activity that targets World Cup visitors, including the international teams that have traveled here to compete,” she said. “We thank the Kansas City Police Department and our on-call attorneys for their quick work investigating this incident and filing charges immediately.”

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas also praised the speed of the response. “I am grateful for the quick work of the Kansas City Police Department and the Prosecutor’s Office in resolving an investigation across several states, helping crime victims recover goods stolen in transit,” he said.

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson was characteristically relaxed when asked about the incident. “My boots? I’ve got them on my feet so it’s all good,” he said. “We got them all back.”