Team France held its first U.S. World Cup practice Thursday at Bentley University in Waltham, drawing a crowd despite the team’s stated reasons for choosing the campus—perfect grass and privacy. Players trained on sprints, passing, and juggling while the Frenc
Kylian Mbappé and his French teammates may have been trying to keep things quiet, but Thursday morning at Bentley University in Waltham quickly turned into a spectacle.
The French national team’s first U.S. World Cup practice brought media members down to the Waltham pitch for what team officials had already framed as a carefully chosen setup. Team France cited perfect grass and privacy as reasons for using Bentley as its home base for the 2026 World Cup.
The contradiction was immediate. When the players arrived at their tournament hotel—the Four Seasons in Boston’s Back Bay—they were greeted by a throng of fans. The team is renting out the entire hotel, according to the report.
Back on the field at Bentley on Thursday, France held its first U.S. World Cup practice. Team France players ran sprints at Bentley University in Waltham. They worked on passing. They also practiced juggling. entering the field for sessions that kept the ball moving and the training clock moving with it.
Privacy was part of the pitch for Bentley in the first place. But photos from the practice show a crush of media descending as the team worked, making the campus feel less like a secluded training ground and more like a front-row seat to a major tournament moment.
The team continues using Waltham’s pitch and Boston’s Back Bay hotel for the bulk of the World Cup as France prepares in public—even when it tries to prepare in peace.
Team France Bentley University Waltham World Cup 2026 Kylian Mbappe Four Seasons Boston Back Bay practice media