Harry Kane and several England teammates were tricked into signing copies of the American Declaration of Independence by pranksters posing as autograph hunters outside the team's training base in Kansas City.
Thomas Tuchel's squad had travelled from their pre-camp training base in Florida to Kansas City at the weekend and were carrying out their usual post-training routine on Sunday, greeting fans, posing for photographs and signing shirts and other memorabilia. As players moved through the crowd of autograph seekers, many did not pause to check what they were signing when pranksters held out copies of the Declaration of Independence, the founding document of the United States that asserted its sovereignty from Great Britain in 1776.
Recording from England's training base, the prankster explained the plan beforehand: "We're going to see England and our goal today is to get as many of the players as possible to sign these copies of the Declaration of Independence. I think it's going to go pretty well. I think they'll just be signing. For sure Harry Kane, that's the big tuna that we're looking for. The big guy. Any others are fine but we want Harry Kane to sign it."
Kane duly signed, along with Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Elliot Anderson, Tino Livramento and Jordan Henderson.
The clip drew nearly 24,000 likes within a day. One widely shared comment read: "This is the greatest troll in the history of trolling." Another asked, "Does this mean they have to play for Team USA now?" A third joked, "You'd get 100 per cent of the Scottish team."
Kit theft investigation
The prank came during an eventful few days for England, after some of their kit was stolen in transit, including boots and footballs worth $18,000 (£13,467). Jackson County prosecutors have listed the items allegedly taken, most of which have since been recovered. Two men, Mustafa Salik and Erfan Kamal, face up to seven years in prison.
The stolen haul included four pairs of football boots, goalkeeper gloves, three signed England shirts, eight training kits, two stuffed lion mascots, a Lego set of a Nike Air shoe, five pairs of trainers, a World Cup football and a JBL speaker.
Security tightened at training base
Security has also been increased at the Swope Soccer Village, with extra screens and signs warning of criminal action against anyone found snooping, partly in response to the Southampton spygate scandal. Additional black screens have gone up around the nine-pitch facility, which is overlooked on one side by a stretch of freeway, and a no-fly zone is now in place.
The venue, which has previously hosted pre-season tours by Manchester United and Newcastle, now displays signs reading: "Private property. No trespassing, no unauthorised access. No recording, photography or drones. Breaches may constitute criminal and civil offences."
Settling into Kansas City
England are staying at the four-star, 54-room Inn at Meadowbrook hotel, about a 25-minute drive from the Kansas City Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium, though they are not currently scheduled to play there despite it being a FIFA venue for six fixtures this tournament.
The city was chosen partly to minimise travel between England's Group L matches. It sits midway between Dallas, where they open the tournament against Croatia on Wednesday, and Boston and New Jersey, where they will face Ghana and then Panama to complete the group stage.
Quinton Lucas, the Mayor of Kansas City, welcomed the team's arrival, declaring "the British are coming" when FIFA confirmed the squad's move to Missouri. "So you have this amazing mix of a city with interest, facilities that match it, and a very good location in the middle of North America," he said. "Then of course, having the opportunity for a city to truly, truly prove that it wants it more than anyone else. What we heard on every tour when people were here was, 'wow, we were blown away by the fact that with Kansas City, we truly take things over for a while.'"