England’s first day at World Cup base in Kansas City threatened by tornado warning | OneFootball

A tornado and severe storm threatened to disrupt England’s first day in Kansas City after arriving at their World Cup base.

Thomas Tuchel’s side touched down in the Midwest on Saturday lunchtime after a day and a half off in Florida and held a community training session at their Swope Soccer Village base at 5pm local time (11pm BST).

The sun was still searing when the squad took to the field, with temperatures at 30 degrees Celsius, but a tornado warning was put out for parts of the city as storms were due to hit in the early evening.

England’s pre-tournament camp in Florida was littered with weather issues, including their final warm-up friendly against Costa Rica being delayed by an hour after a thunderstorm, but nothing as severe as a tornado.

(Getty)

The incoming warning saw Kansas City’s fan festival shut early for safety reasons.

A statement from organisers read: “Due to anticipated severe weather, Fifa fan festival will be closing early at 5pm and will not reopen today.

“The safety of the public, staff, volunteers and entertainers remains our top priority.”

All 26 members of England’s squad trained in the heat after checking into their hotel, the Inn at Meadowbrook in the south of the city.

A couple of hundred people greeted them at their hotel before 700 spectators watched the training session.

England’s arrival came after their base suffered a theft of training equipment, with items that include some of the team’s boots and official tournament balls stolen on Friday.

Tuchel’s men open their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday before further Group L games against Ghana and Panama.