The England team arrived at their World Cup headquarters in Kansas City on Saturday, diving straight into their preparations.
After settling in at the Inn at Meadowbrook Hotel in Prairie Village, where they will be staying throughout their time in the U.S., they headed to Swope Soccer Village for their initial training session in Missouri, just a short 20-minute drive away.
Welcomed warmly by the local community, they were also met with heightened security, as the players traveled in a motorcade.
The intense heat, however, was unavoidable, with temperatures soaring to around 31°C as they put in the effort on the field.
Here’s what BBC Sport noted from England’s first training session in Kansas City.
Will England Repeat Their Last Lineup?
According to a report from BBC Sport, there’s a developing belief that the starting XI from last week’s match against Costa Rica will again be the choice for Coach Thomas Tuchel’s side in their upcoming match against Croatia on Wednesday. Their Saturday training session provided further evidence for this theory.
During part of the session, the ten outfield players who started against Costa Rica—Jude Bellingham, Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Nico O’Reilly, Elliot Anderson, Harry Kane, Anthony Gordon, Declan Rice, Noni Madueke, and Reece James—trained separately from the group.
This could have been mere coincidence, but for those analyzing the clues about Tuchel’s line-up for Tuesday’s match, it would not be surprising to read into it.
One notable change to the team that faced Costa Rica could involve Bukayo Saka potentially replacing Madueke. Tuchel has mentioned that they are managing Saka’s fitness levels throughout the tournament, raising doubts about the Arsenal forward’s capability to participate.
Saka appeared to practice away from the main group and showed signs of not moving at full pace.
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England Downplays The Theft Incident
After the training session, players seemed determined to minimize the impact of a recent theft involving their equipment.
Reports surfaced on Friday night regarding stolen equipment during the move from their training camp in Florida to Kansas City.
Kansas City police later charged two individuals, Mustafa Salik and Erfan Kamal, in connection with the incident, which involved $18,000 worth of property being sold off.
The Football Association confirmed that no vital performance equipment had been taken and that most of the stolen items had been recovered.
According to reports, the stolen items included four pairs of cleats, a ball, a pair of goalkeeper gloves, and training gear.
Discussing the theft, Dan Burn remarked, “Personally, I haven’t lost anything; we heard about it from you guys (the media). It’s with the police now, so I can’t say much more. It’s not really been a topic of concern for us; our preparations haven’t been disrupted.”
Intensifying Preparations
With England’s World Cup preparations in full swing, the approach for the group matches is becoming increasingly focused.
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While the training camp in Florida centered on acclimatization to the hot and humid climate, training in Kansas City will pivot towards gearing up for their group stage matches against Croatia, Ghana, and Panama.
Head Coach Tuchel stated: “We’re all acclimatized; the players have trained hard and have adjusted to the heat—we’re in a good spot. Today was about settling in; starting tomorrow, we’ll concentrate on preparing for Croatia over the next three days.”
Captain Harry Kane echoed these sentiments: “This is where the real work begins; we’re looking forward to making this our home for the next six weeks. I was pleased with our performance against Costa Rica, and now we’re gearing up for a challenging first game. Croatia is a tough opponent, having demonstrated their capabilities in the last two World Cups, and we need to be prepared.”