England coach explains why he chose Prairie Village hotel for World Cup lodging
England is one of the favorites to win the 2026 World Cup, which means the Three Lions could have an extended stay in North America.
And if England coach Thomas Tuchel has his way, the squad will keep its home base in Kansas City the entire time. England’s base camp will be at Swope Soccer Village, while the players will stay at the Inn at Meadowbrook in Prairie Village.
Tuchel was asked last week if he wants to remain in Kansas City should England make a deep run in the tournament. If not, they’d move around as the tournament progresses.
But Tuchel loves the lodgings in Prairie Village.
“We’re trying to,” Tuchel said, per ESPN. “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 in the floor between breakfast and meeting, air-conditioning is on and you cannot open the windows. So, 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.”
The Inn at Meadowbrook has 54 rooms, and promises “luxurious amenities, just the right amount of privacy, 5-star service, and abundant hospitality.”
And, apparently, it has windows that open.
England is in Group L and will have one of the latest opening matches of the World Cup, playing on June 17. The tournament begins June 11.
But Tuchel said the players don’t see that as a disadvantage.
“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,” Tuchel said, per ESPN.
He added: “These are some decisions that had to be made and maybe the headline is ‘We try to be as often in Kansas as possible.’”
People in Kansas will love hearing that.
This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 9:57 AM.
