World Cup quick hits: England camp raided by thieves as Scotland celebrations erupt

England's team bus is raided by thieves while victorious Scottish fans prepare for a rowdy long weekend of celebrations.

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Here are the quick hits from around the World Cup today.

1. England's team bus robbed

Two people have been detained in connection with the theft of equipment from the England national team's vehicles during a move from its pre-training base in Florida to Kansas City.

The English FA confirmed the theft but did not provide more information due to the ongoing police investigation. Authorities said the incident took place at some point Friday night (local time).

"Yesterday, officials in Kansas City learned at some point between their over-the-road transport from Florida to their arrival at the training facility in Kansas City, goods belonging to the English national team were stolen," Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, said.

"Public safety officials at the local, state and federal levels are working to trace where in the United States the items were seized and all the individuals who may have been involved."

Authorities also said most of the missing gear, none of which is essential to the team's preparations, had been recovered.

If nothing else then, at least England's cones and footballs are coming home.

2. World Cup's smallest ever nation prepares for debut

Curaçao is preparing for its historic World Cup debut against four-time champion Germany with a sense of excitement and pride.

On Monday morning (AEST), the island nation of 150,000 people will become the smallest country ever to compete at the World Cup.

Coach Dick Advocaat has done his best to keep his players focused and relaxed as they navigate this unprecedented experience.

"Just be yourself, and don't be nervous," defender Shurandy Sambo said Advocaat told them, just before the team left its Florida base camp for Houston.

"Of course everybody is excited, but just be yourself, show yourself, because this is the biggest stage."

The Curaçao players have worked hard to ensure they are prepared for their debut. Germany, making its 21st appearance in the World Cup, is a heavy favourite.

"We've watched a lot of clips of Germany. How they play, what they can do," Sambo said.

3. World Cup mascots bust up a drug den

Two Peruvian police officers disguised as World Cup mascots Clutch and Maple helped to arrest a suspected drug dealer in Lima.

Colonel Carlos Alcántara, head of the Green Squadron, a unit that combats common crime, said they captured Carlos Cabrera, 48, with the help of the two undercover agents on Thursday during the opening match of the World Cup between Mexico and South Africa.

"Thanks to intelligence work, we realised that this person was a diehard football fan and was caught up in World Cup fever," Alcántara said.

"Therefore, we decided to disguise personnel as World Cup mascots so we could approach him without raising suspicion and apprehend him."

Nothing less suspicious than a giant eagle and moose approaching your front door with a battering ram, after all.

4. Scotland's long weekend of celebrations

What's better than your nation winning its first World Cup match in 36 years? Your nation winning its first World Cup match in 36 years during a long weekend.

Even though Scotland's opening match against Haiti kicked off in the early hours of Sunday morning, the pubs and live sites across the country were full of fans who knew they had another 48 hours of partying ahead of them.

Drawn in a tough group, which also features Brazil and Morocco, Scotland circled the game against Haiti as probably its best chance for a win at this World Cup.

And it broke the drought with a gutsy win, holding on through a tense tussle after John McGinn scored in the first half.

5. Did VAR malfunction cost Qatar?

Did the officials miss an offside in the build-up to the penalty that gave Switzerland the lead?

UK pundits were aghast that an offside was not called, with former England defenders Gary Neville and Lee Dixon telling UK broadcaster ITV that there were question marks over the decision making.

"Surely my vision isn't that blurred," Dixon said, while Neville said FIFA needed to prove it.

"There is a massive question over that because it is offside in my eyes until they prove me different," Neville said.

Turns out, FIFA had checked for offside but "a brief technical outage prevented the onside animation graphic from being generated".

"The workflow of the VAR was not affected by this issue and followed the normal procedure in checking the on-field decision," FIFA said in a statement, adding that there was no offside in the lead-up.

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