World Cup 2026: England requests Kansas City base for tournament

The best camp wins. You can have the best facilities in the world but it is the results that will determine your mood.

It’s like you’re in a bubble. You are away from your home, your family and part of the biggest sporting event in the world but at the same time you stay away from the action.

However, you loved it, because you knew that the next few weeks could be some of the best times of your life.

Different England coaches have tried different approaches. Graham Taylor banned the newspapers at Euro 92, but we didn’t need to be told we were playing poorly. Finishing bottom of the group let us know. results!

Things were much more relaxed under Terry Venables at Euro 96. He was a great coach and we had a great team spirit but again results and performance played a big part in that.

Of course, there was no social media back then, so players these days have to find a different way to deal with the noise and block it out. Gareth Southgate was open with the media and it worked to some extent, but we still saw criticism about the performance even when they got the results.

It remains to be seen how Thomas Tuchel will manage the camp, but it is a very complex World Cup in terms of travel and climate.

I know the FA were planning for each different scenario, so as a player you trust that they get it right, it’s up to you to achieve those results.