"You sound very sceptical": DFB raises eyebrows with World Cup base in the US

Her conclusion is rather sobering. Speaking at a press event for Magenta TV on Monday, the presenter said: “We were there. I’d put a question mark behind it. It’s an interesting choice of accommodation. I think you can prepare well and stay focused there, but there’s absolutely nothing going on around it. That’s always a bit of an issue.”

Former international Mats Hummels, who was also present at the media event, replied: “I think it’s brilliant that you’re expressing such scepticism.” For him, as a former professional, it had always been important during a tournament to foster “a good spirit” within the team: “That everyone spends time together.”

The Campo Bahia, where the German national team stayed during their victorious 2014 World Cup, stood out in particular. "Everyone was out together, meeting up and doing things. That created a great team spirit," said Hummels.

During the embarrassing World Cup tournaments of 2018 and 2022, the choice of team accommodation was also a focus of attention. The German team’s base in Watutinki, Russia, drew heavy criticism of the then DFB manager Oliver Bierhoff, centring on the bleak surroundings and isolated location. “The complex, once planned as an exclusive retreat for the party elite, is more reminiscent of a military base than a beach setting,” remarked the Süddeutsche Zeitung, comparing it to the “oasis of well-being” at Campo Bahia four years earlier. National coach Joachim Löw himself spoke of the “charm of a good sports school”.

The team’s accommodation during the World Cup in Qatar, in Al-Ruwais, was also highly controversial due to its remoteness. The DFB team was virtually the only nation to be based at the other end of the country, whilst most participants were accommodated in the capital, Doha. The kicker magazine, for instance, wrote of a “unique sense of isolation”: “Never before has the surroundings of a DFB base been so bleak and desolate for miles around as in 2022.”

This also caused logistical problems. For the mandatory FIFA press conferences before the matches, coach Hansi Flick regularly had to travel an hour by car to Doha. Before the second group match against Spain, no players attended due to the journey, which caused the DFB trouble with FIFA.

The squad led by national team manager Julian Nagelsmann (38) will be staying at 'The Graylyn Estate' hotel in Winston-Salem during the World Cup this summer. The estate bears a striking resemblance to a medieval castle. 85 individually designed rooms are spread across the 55-hectare site. The building was constructed almost 100 years ago as a private residence; today it is owned and operated by the neighbouring university.

Nagelsmann himself had visited the site several times and was ultimately a key factor in the selection. “As a team, we have found a place in the Adidas Home Ground in Herzogenaurach that allows us to come together time and again, whilst still offering the necessary peace and quiet and opportunities for retreat. We have now found this same combination at The Graylyn Estate,” he said when the accommodation was announced.