Only England: Revisiting the shooting near the training camp and the theft of equipment trucks before the 2026 World Cup.
On 13 June, only England experienced incidents including a shooting near their training camp and the theft of their equipment trucks ahead of the 2026 World Cup, where they will face the "Checkerboard Warriors"—Croatia—in Group L, matchday 1, on the night of 17 June at 03:00 Thailand time.
The first incident occurred on Saturday, 6 June 2026, at around 04:00 local time, when a shooting took place on Troost Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, resulting in nine people injured. The scene was only about 4 miles (approximately 6.44 kilometers) from the "Swope Soccer Village," the training camp and hotel accommodations for England's national team for the 2026 World Cup.
When local police heard gunfire, they quickly responded to the scene and found nine adults injured by gunshots, with no fatalities. At the time, no England players or coaching staff were in the area, as the "Three Lions," led by Thomas Tuchel, were still training in Palm Beach, Florida, preparing for warm-up matches before checking into the Kansas City camp on Saturday, 13 June 2026.
More recently, on 13 June 2026, the "Three Lions" faced another shocking incident when their equipment truck was broken into by thieves during the transfer of gear to the Swope Soccer Village training base in Kansas City, USA, ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
The thieves broke into several vehicles used for transporting equipment, stealing mainly training gear, footballs, and star player footwear, including those of Harry Kane. Nearly everything was taken, with reports suggesting the thief mockingly left just one football behind as a taunt.
This incident caused great turmoil for Thomas Tuchel's England team, who are scheduled to open their World Cup Group L campaign against Croatia on 17 June. The situation was unexpected, especially after the recent shooting near their Kansas camp, leading to widespread criticism regarding the security measures of the host nation, the United States.