The thieves took Jude Bellingham's boots, Harry Kane's boots, three signed jerseys worth $5,000 each — and two stuffed lions. Presumably the lions put up no resistance.
Mustafa Salik and Erfan Kamal, both drivers for the trucking firm contracted to move England's equipment from Florida to Kansas City, have been charged with receiving stolen property — a class D felony in Missouri. The full inventory of the $18,000 (£13,500) haul, confirmed through court documents, reads like a very specific eBay wishlist: four pairs of boots, five pairs of shoes, a World Cup match ball, goalie gloves, training kit, a JBL speaker, a Lego Nike Air shoe set, and yes, the mascots.
Swift action, most items recovered
Jackson County prosecutor Melesa Johnson was blunt: "Jackson County will not tolerate any criminal activity that targets World Cup visitors." Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas echoed the same, praising a multi-state investigation that moved fast enough to file charges almost immediately after the theft came to light.
Crucially, the majority of the stolen items have been recovered and returned to England's base at Swope Soccer Village. That matters — not just for morale, but practically. Match boots are personalised to the millimetre. Kane and Bellingham going into a World Cup opener with borrowed footwear would have been a genuinely disruptive problem.
It didn't come to that. And according to Dan Burn, the squad barely registered it. "I've not lost anything personally, we found out from you guys," the Newcastle defender told reporters. "It's not really been spoken about, so that just shows for us that they aren't too worried about it."
Eyes back on Croatia
England open Group L against Croatia on June 17 — the same opponent they beat to reach the 2018 World Cup final before famously losing to them in extra time. Tuchel won't want a burglary subplot running into that fixture, and for now, it won't be one.
The FA has confirmed preparations are unaffected. The police have their suspects. The stuffed lions are home.
"Our office is committed to holding these individuals accountable," said Johnson. For two truck drivers who thought they were stealing kit, a class D felony charge is a fairly steep price for a Lego set and a Bluetooth speaker.
