England’s players were forced to remain indoors on their first night in Kansas City after a “deadly” tornado warning was issued across the area.
Thomas Tuchel’s squad arrived in the Midwest on Saturday around lunchtime following a day and a half break in Florida.
Later that day, they took part in a community training session at their Swope Soccer Village base at 5pm local time (11pm BST) under clear skies and intense sunshine.
However, conditions changed dramatically during the evening as a severe storm approached. Thousands of residents in the surrounding area, including members of the England camp, received emergency alerts on their phones advising them to seek shelter immediately.
As a precaution, the team remained inside their accommodation at the Inn at Meadowbrook hotel in Prairie Village.
The warning messages stated: “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.”
Although the area where England was based avoided a direct tornado strike, it experienced severe weather, including strong winds, thunder, lightning and torrential rainfall.
Across downtown Kansas City, warning sirens sounded, urging people to take cover indoors.
Local television broadcasters suspended regular programming, including coverage of Scotland’s World Cup match against Haiti and the NBA Finals clash between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, to provide continuous updates and live tracking of the storm.
England had already encountered several weather-related disruptions during their pre-tournament stay in Florida. Their final warm-up match against Costa Rica was delayed by an hour due to a thunderstorm, although the conditions were not as extreme as those linked to the tornado warning in Kansas City.
The severe weather also forced organisers to close Kansas City’s fan festival earlier than planned.
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.”
