England stars were forced to seek shelter on Saturday evening as a confirmed tornado and fierce storm system tore through Kansas City, where the Three Lions, Argentina, Algeria and the Netherlands are all stationed for the World Cup.
Tornado Warning and Emergency Alerts
Tornado sirens blared across the city in the early evening, with emergency alerts confirming a tornado near the Randolph and World of Fun area of Clay County, tracking eastward through Missouri City and towards Sibley. A revised warning issued by the National Weather Service at 9:12pm local time remained in force until 9:45pm, covering Jackson and Lafayette counties as a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Levasy, moving east at 35 miles per hour.
An emergency alert sent to mobile phones read: "Critical. Imminent Threat Alert. National Weather Service: SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING in effect for this area until 9:00 PM CDT for DESTRUCTIVE 80 mph winds. Take shelter in a sturdy building, away from windows. Flying debris may be deadly to those caught without shelter. For your protection, move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building."
Areas placed under warning included Independence, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, Odessa and Lexington, with Interstate 70 in Missouri affected between mile markers 23 and 42.
Impact on England Squad
England were perhaps the most severely impacted of the four nations, having only arrived in Kansas City that afternoon following a day and a half of rest at their Florida base. Thomas Tuchel's squad had already endured a turbulent few days after training equipment was stolen on Friday, and the tornado alert heaped further unwanted drama onto their first day in the Midwest.
The full 26-man squad had trained in sweltering conditions at Swope Soccer Village, with the mercury hitting 30 degrees Celsius as they took to the pitch in front of approximately 700 spectators. The tornado warning struck just as the session was drawing to a close, prompting Kansas City's FIFA fan festival to shut its doors early as a precautionary measure.
The local FOX broadcast airing Scotland's clash against Haiti was abruptly interrupted by a severe storm warning, urging viewers to "take shelter in a sturdy buildings, away from windows."
England had already faced weather-related disruption at their Florida training base, where their final warm-up friendly against Costa Rica was pushed back by an hour following a thunderstorm. Argentina, Algeria and the Netherlands, all of whom are also based in the city, were equally affected by the warning.
England kick off their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday in Group L, with subsequent group stage matches against Ghana and Panama to follow.
