England have arrived at their World Cup base in Kansas City and wasted no time getting to work, completing their first training session at Swope Soccer Village shortly after checking in to the Inn at Meadowbrook Hotel in Prairie Village, Missouri.
The squad made the 20-minute journey to the training facility under heavy security, arriving in a motorcade — a sign of the attention surrounding Thomas Tuchel's side as the tournament draws near. Temperatures of around 31C greeted the players, but the heat did little to slow the session down.
Starting XI hints emerge
The most closely watched element of Saturday's session was a clear sign of how Tuchel may line up against Croatia on Tuesday. At one point, the same 10 outfield players who started the 2-0 warm-up win over 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 as a separate group from the rest of the squad.
While that grouping may have been coincidental, it strongly suggests Tuchel is leaning toward the same starting side for England's Group B opener in Dallas. The one alteration many anticipated was Bukayo Saka coming in for Madueke, but Tuchel has acknowledged that Saka requires careful management throughout the tournament due to fitness concerns. The Arsenal forward trained away from the apparent first-choice group and still appeared restricted in his movement.
Theft downplayed by the squad
Players were keen to minimise the distraction caused by a theft that came to light on Friday, when items were reported stolen from a vehicle transporting equipment from England's pre-tournament camp in Florida to Kansas City. Kansas City police confirmed on Saturday that two men — Mustafa Salik and Erfan Kamal — had been charged in connection with the incident, in which $18,000 worth of property was sold.
The Football Association stressed that no elite performance equipment had been taken, and that most of the stolen items — reportedly four pairs of football boots, one ball, a pair of goalkeeper gloves, and training kit — have since been recovered.
Defender Dan Burn played down the episode, saying:
