The draw for the 2026 World Cup is over, but the Blues have yet to find their ideal base camp.
The French team is now focused on its opponents in the group stage. Friday in Washington, the draw delivered its verdict. The Blues, placed in Group I, will face Senegal on June 16 at MetLife Stadium in New York (9 p.m.), the winner of international play-off 2 (Bolivia, Iraq or Suriname) on June 22 in Philadelphia (11 p.m.), and Norway on June 26, also at 9 p.m.
As of Saturday evening, after finalizing the locations and times, Didier Deschamps and part of his staff flew to Boston to continue the base camp visits started the previous week by Cyril Moine, Mohamed Sanhadji, Raphaël Raymond and Philippe Brocherieux, reveals The Team. Until then, two options remained on the table: Boston and New Jersey.
Boston seems to be in the lead for the moment, thanks to its milder climate in June (2 to 3 degrees less than in New York), its easier traffic and the proximity of the airport (around fifteen kilometers from the city center). But obstacles remain. The hotel identified does not yet appear in the Fifa catalog and the training center requires work to meet the standards expected by the Blues staff. Final validation from the international body will be essential.
A third city in the running
The other option, using the New York Red Bulls training center in New Jersey, seems less and less attractive for Deschamps, concerned about the comfort and living environment of his players for almost a month and a half. “It’s not so much the plane times that concern me, but the time it takes, from base camp to the airport and from base camp to training camp. We have matches at 3 p.m. (local time), so we will have to adapt training and lunch times. Compared to fatigue, this transport time is really important”he said on Saturday.
Boston remains in a good position for the moment, but Deschamps is exploring other avenues. Since his arrival in the United States on Thursday evening, the coach has opened discussions on an alternative: Chicago. The city has not yet been visited and will not host any matches, but it offers suitable hotels, a comfortable living environment and training centers that meet the requirements of the France team. In addition, its geographical location is ideal. Chicago is just a two-hour flight from New York, Philadelphia and Boston, the three cities where the Blues will play their group matches.
