Home from home: personal touches lift England’s World Cup base camp

T he first thing to say about England in Kansas City is that the locals seem genuinely delighted to have them here. The welcome for Thomas Tuchel and his players has been warm, coloured by the charm and friendliness of the midwest. Yet there is also a question that people have asked, particularly those who are connected to Argentina, the Netherlands and Algeria – the other World Cup nations who have chosen to base themselves in this area. Why are England here? Unlike the trio, they have no group matches at the city’s Arrowhead Stadium. There are several strands to the answer which, when put together, convinced the Football Association that Kansas City would provide the surest springboard to glory at what is the most bloated and challenging World Cup of them all. The governing body like Kansas City’s central location, knowing it will mitigate the travel distances to and from games; England will not have any flights of more than three-and-a-half hours. The countries that choose to ground-hop in the knockout rounds rather than return to a fixed base as England plan to do could find themselves looking at some unappealing journeys. The FA believe there is a significant advantage to having an actual home – or at least a home from home – previous tournaments have shown them this. It will mean, for example, that staff do not have to lug their equipment around every three to five days; a physical and mental challenge. …