The 2026 World Cup is upon us, with the group stage kicking off on Thursday, but which nation will have to travel the furthest distance over their first three matches this summer?
Even before a ball has been kicked, the location of the 2026 World Cup has proven one of the hottest topics in the build-up to the tournament, and it’s clear to see why. Spanning three countries and three time zones, the tournament stretches across a vast geographical footprint, with the furthest distance between any two venues sitting at 2,800 miles – all the way from Vancouver to Miami.
As a consequence, the logistics of the group stages will have put every nation’s organisational ability to the test. So which team faces the longest journey between their base camp and their three group stage venues?
To find out, we calculated the distance between each nation’s base and their group stage match locations as the crow flies, counting each trip as a round journey.
Which nations will travel the furthest distance?
| Nation | Base Camp | First Match | Second Match | Third Match | Total distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curacao | Boca Raton, FL | Houston, TX | Kansas City, MO | Philadelphia, PA | 6,285 |
| Austria | Goleta, CA | San Francisco, CA | Dallas, TX | Kansas City, MO | 5,976 |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | Salt Lake City, UT | Toronto, ON | Los Angeles, CA | Seattle, WA | 5,912 |
| England | Prairie Village, KS | Dallas, TX | Boston, MA | Seattle, WA | 5,587 |
| Jordan | Portland, OR | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA | Dallas, TX | 5,487 |
| Czech Republic | Arlington, TX | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Atlanta, GA | Mexico City, Mexico City | 5,179 |
| New Zealand | San Diego, CA | Los Angeles, CA | Vancouver, BC | Vancouver, BC | 4,952 |
| Japan | Nashville, TN | Dallas, TX | Monterrey, Nuevo León | Dallas, TX | 4,687 |
| Turkey | Mesa, Arizona | Vancouver, BC | San Francisco, CA | Los Angeles, CA | 4,500 |
| Uruguay | Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo | Miami, FL | Miami, FL | Guadalajara, Jalisco | 4,395 |
| Qatar | Goleta, CA | San Francisco, CA | Vancouver, BC | Seattle, WA | 4,385 |
| Canada | Vancouver, BC | Toronto, ON | Vancouver, BC | Vancouver, BC | 4,186 |
| Saudi Arabia | Austin, TX | Miami, FL | Atlanta, GA | Houston, TX | 4,144 |
| Uzbekistan | Atlanta, GA | Mexico City, Mexico City | Houston, TX | Atlanta, GA | 4,110 |
| Scotland | Charlotte, NC | Boston, MA | Boston, MA | Miami, FL | 4,083 |
| Germany | Winston-Salem, NC | Houston, TX | Toronto, ON | New Jersey, NJ | 3,945 |
| Portugal | Palm Beach, FL | Houston, TX | Houston, TX | Miami, FL | 3,943 |
| Colombia | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Mexico City, Mexico City | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Miami, FL | 3,614 |
| South Africa | Pachuca, Hidalgo | Mexico City, Mexico City | Atlanta, GA | Monterrey, Nuevo León | 3,488 |
| Switzerland | San Diego, CA | San Francisco, CA | Los Angeles, CA | Vancouver, BC | 3,431 |
| Spain | Chattanooga, TN | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta, GA | Guadalajara, Jalisco | 3,377 |
| Norway | Greensboro, NC | Boston, MA | New Jersey, NJ | Boston, MA | 3,373 |
| Croatia | Alexandria, VA | Dallas, TX | Toronto, ON | Philadelphia, PA | 3,359 |
| Algeria | Lawrence, KK | Kansas City, MO | San Francisco, CA | Kansas City, MO | 3,072 |
| DR Congo | Houston, TX | Houston, TX | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Atlanta, GA | 3,022 |
| Ecuador | Columbus, OH | Philadelphia, PA | Kansas City, MO | New Jersey, NJ | 3,013 |
| Australia | Berkeley, CA | Vancouver, BC | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA | 2,992 |
| Cape Verde | Tampa, FL | Atlanta, GA | Miami, FL | Houston, TX | 2,809 |
| Iran | Tijuana, Baja CA | Los Angeles, CA | Los Angeles, CA | Seattle, WA | 2,652 |
| Iraq | White Sulphur Springs, WV | Boston, MA | Philadelphia, PA | Toronto, ON | 2,562 |
| Brazil | Basking Ridge, NJ | New Jersey, NJ | Philadelphia, PA | Miami, FL | 2,316 |
| Netherlands | Kansas City, MO | Dallas, TX | Houston, TX | Kansas City, MO | 2,234 |
| United States | Irvine, CA | Los Angeles, CA | Seattle, WA | Los Angeles, CA | 2,116 |
| Belgium | Renton, WA | Seattle, WA | Los Angeles, CA | Vancouver, BC | 2,191 |
| Tunisia | San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo León | Monterrey, Nuevo León | Monterrey, Nuevo León | Kansas City, MO | 2,010 |
| Haiti | Atlantic City, NJ | Boston, MA | Philadelphia, PA | Atlanta, GA | 1,962 |
| Morocco | Warren, NJ | New Jersey, NJ | Boston, MA | Atlanta, GA | 1,888 |
| Argentina | Kansas City, MO | Kansas City, MO | Dallas, TX | Dallas, TX | 1,853, |
| Sweden | Frisco, TX | Monterrey, Nuevo León | Houston, TX | Dallas, TX | 1,680 |
| Egypt | Airways Heights, WA | Seattle, WA | Vancouver, BC | Seattle, WA | 1,440 |
| Ghana | Providence, RI | Toronto, ON | Boston, MA | Philadelphia, PA | 1,366 |
| France | Boston, MA | New Jersey, NJ | Philadelphia, PA | Boston, MA | 968 |
| Panama | New Tecumseth, ON | Toronto, ON | Toronto, ON | New Jersey, NJ | 876 |
| South Korea | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Monterrey, Nuevo León | 825 |
| Senegal | New Brunswick, NJ | New Jersey, NJ | New Jersey, NJ | Toronto, ON | 791 |
| Ivory Coast | Wilmington, DE | Philadelphia, PA | Toronto, ON | Philadelphia, PA | 762 |
| Paraguay | San Jose, CA | Los Angeles, CA | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA | 640 |
| Mexico | Mexico City, Mexico City | Mexico City, Mexico City | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Mexico City, Mexico City | 625 |
The disparity between Curacao’s travel distance and Mexico’s is vast. Not only do Curacao have to travel more than 10 times the distance of the co-hosts, but they also travel 300 miles more than anyone else in the competition. As a result, Curacao are the side at this World Cup with the furthest distance to travel at over 6,000 miles.
While Mexico benefit as co-hosts, the schedule isn’t as kind to the other hosts, Canada and the United States. That said, one matchday accounts for much of their travel distance.
In Canada’s case, they have to travel to Toronto from their base in Vancouver, a distance of 2,093 miles each way. Similarly, the United States are based in Irvine, California and play two of their group stage games in Los Angeles. Their other game, however, takes place in Seattle, with that single trip making up 1,978 of their total 2,116 miles travelled.
Further up the table, England sit near the top of the distance travelled rankings, travelling from Kansas to Dallas, Boston and Seattle. In total, that amounts to 5,587 miles – the fourth-highest distance travelled by any nation at the competition.
Overall, 15 of the nations playing at the World Cup will have to travel more than 4,000 miles in the group stages, whereas just seven will travel less than 1,000 miles across their three matches.
Whether distance travelled will play any part in nations’ fortunes this summer remains unclear, but the discourse around the event and locations will surely run and run.
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