PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The England national football team held its first stateside training session at Gardens District Park in Palm Beach Gardens ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
The team's 26-man squad landed in Palm Beach County on Monday and is training in Palm Beach County to get acclimated to the heat ahead of the World Cup.
WATCH BELOW: England's World Cup squad trains in Palm Beach Gardens
WPTV was on the field as players, including Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Ollie Watkins and Jordan Henderson, ran through warm-ups and drills at the facility.
The park, the city's premier soccer facility, was selected as a base camp after years of building a reputation among elite soccer organizations.
Watkins said the team was eager to get back to work together.
"We've all finished at different times (with our club teams), but it's nice to be back together, and yeah, get straight to," Watkins said.
Henderson described Tuesday's session as a light one focused on getting the group moving again.
"Not too heavy, quite light, just to get going again, but nice to get the balls out and get the lads together and play some football," Henderson said.
Midfielder Kobbie Mainoo said the South Florida heat presented its own challenge.
"I've been here before, but playing in playing football in this weather is something else," Mainoo said.
Gardens District Park, completed in 2019, drew national attention after opening and international attention last year when it hosted Club World Cup training. Both England and Portugal will use the facility ahead of the World Cup.
Henderson praised the grounds.
"Pitches are really good quality, so yeah, really, really impressed with the facilities here. Definitely," Henderson said.
Fans were also on hand, with some visibly overwhelmed by the moment.
"There's no way this is real," one young fan at the training session said. "I didn't go to bed until 2 o'clock.
Fans collected autographs and met their favorite players, with one describing what it meant to watch the squad train on familiar ground.
"It's just like cool to see them like play on the same field that my team plays on," another young fan said.
England has a friendly scheduled against New Zealand at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium on Saturday at 4 p.m. They will then take on Costa Rica at Orlando's Inter&Co Stadium on June 10.
The team is scheduled to depart Florida on June 13. England's official tournament base camp will be in Kansas City.
England's first World Cup match is against Croatia on June 17 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and portions have been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
