England’s players will stay in a relatively modest hotel during the World Cup (Image: Getty)
Thomas Tuchel has opted to keep England‘s players in Kansas City for the World Cup, confessing « there is no place like home. » Tuchel sought the opinions of the players who preferred to stay at a single base this summer and commute to and from matches rather than being on the move throughout the tournament. These domestic comforts evoke memories of the famous line from the classic film Wizard of Oz when Dorothy awakens from a nightmare to find herself back in Kansas.
Dorothy’s other renowned quote to her pet dog was: « Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore. » Well, the England squad had better acclimatise to Kansas City. England considered various locations and team bases but ultimately stuck with their initial preferred plan of residing in Kansas City at the £200-per-night The Inn at Meadowbrook, located on the city’s outskirts in Missouri. They will train at the nearby Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri, but this means double the amount of air travel as they will fly in and out due to the players’ preference for a single base. Kansas is a US state and Kansas City straddles both Kansas and Missouri.
The Football Association are already making arrangements to install a basketball court to keep the players entertained, and as the hotel lacks a swimming pool, they are seeking a local facility.
England’s group matches are in Dallas, Boston and New Jersey and they were always going to travel to these locations, but now they will also commute to the knock-out stages.
Tuchel revealed that he wanted players to rest properly in a compact « intimate » hotel rather than participate in a relentless circus.
He also said their delayed start – England’s opener against Croatia on June 17 – means the players are less susceptible to boredom, though they do have a pre-tournament preparation camp in Florida.
When questioned whether they intend to remain in Kansas throughout, Tuchel said: « We’re trying to because, basically, that was the choice: to have a home, to have a home base, to have a bed that you’re used to sleeping in, to have a bed with a good mattress, to have a hotel with privacy, a small hotel.
« Not a 400, 500, 800 bed hotel where we see each other maybe just in the elevators or on the floor between breakfast and meeting, air-conditioning is on and you cannot open the windows.
Thomas Tuchel has explained how England will prepare for the tournament (Image: Getty)
« There are a lot of these hotels in America and I think that makes a difference, so we chose a hotel where you can open the window, we chose a hotel where it’s an intimate and small place, I think once we get used to that place, it makes sense to go back.
« I have feedback from the players that they like that we start late, that they like that it then becomes condensed, so you have no chance to get bored once you go hopefully through the tournament, looking at it for longer than just the players.
« II had the feeling that a day more could be quite useful so, yeah, these are some decisions that had to be made and maybe the headline is: ‘we try to be as often in Kansas as possible.' »
England are amongst the top four seeds and should they win their group then they could face Mexico in Mexico City and then Brazil in the quarter-finals.
The weather will pose a challenge – storms frequently delayed matches and flights during the Club World Cup – and Tuchel says the 48-team tournament (it has an additional knock-out round for the first time) will be the most gruelling ever.
Tuchel added: « I spent a lot of time recently looking at the schedule, and getting the schedule right in the World Cup. And hopefully, the longer we will get, the more demanding it will become. And it will become very condensed.
« And there will be a lot of flights. And there will be a lot of time at airports. And there will be a lot of time together. And we have to get our chemistry right. And this is the most important. »
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