Police speak out as England team's essential equipment stolen in bizarre World Cup heist
Two people have been taken into custody after several items belonging to the England football team were taken.
The team had been travelling from Florida to Missouri as part of their appearance at the FIFA World Cup when the items went missing.
These included boots and balls belonging to the team, which were reportedly stolen.
Kansas City Police Department has since confirmed that two people have been 'taken in custody' in relation to the incident, though they have not released further information at this stage.
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England's team were enroute to their training base for the World Cup in Kansas City, where Thomas Tuchel’s team will begin training on Saturday.
The squad will have their first match of the tournament against Croatia on June 17, travelling to Dallas for the fixture.
Among the items alleged to have been taken were boots belonging to star players on the team, a well as official World Cup balls, with police saying that the items went missing from a vehicle in Kansas City, the Independent reported.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Kansas City Police Department said: "We are investigating a possible theft of equipment from a team vehicle that arrived in Kansas City with items missing this evening."
The statement added: "Two subjects of interest were taken into custody pending further investigation.”
Currently, England are acclimatizing to the hotter weather in the US, and have won friendly matches against New Zealand in Tampa and Costa Rica in Orlando while staying in Florida.
The tournament is now well underway in the early stages.
Co-hosts Mexico claimed victory over South Africa with a 2-0 win in Mexico City on June 11.
Meanwhile, June 12 saw South Korea beat the Czech Republic 2-1 at Zapopan in Mexico for Group A, while fellow co-hosts Canada drew 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto for Group B.
The weekend is going to see things really moving up a gear with matches.
Saturday has so far seen the USA romp to victory with a 4-1 win against Paraguay in Los Angeles for a group D match.
Two more games are scheduled for Saturday, with Group B seeing Qatar face off against Switzerland in Santa Clara in the US, and Group C having Brazil playing Morocco in New Jersey.
Sunday will see four games kicking off, including Haiti versus Scotland in Foxborough in the US, Australia versus Turkey in Vancouver, Germany playing Curacao in Houston, and Japan and the Netherland playing in Arlington in the US.
Kit Roberts