World Cup 2026 Travel Distance Analysis: Ranking by Country

I investigated the travel distances between match venues for each national team in the 2026 World Cup. At the bottom of this page, you will find a ranking of total travel distances assuming a team qualifies as the group winner.

【Related】World Cup 2026 Travel Distance Simulator
【Source】FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Schedule | FIFA
* Kick-off times are subject to change due to broadcasting requirements.
* Travel distances are calculated as linear distances (as the crow flies) between venues and do not account for round trips to base camps. (This represents the absolute minimum distance.)

1. Key Travel Challenges

This tournament combines the "vast distances of Russia 2018" with the "climate disparities of Brazil 2014" (plus the scattered nature of EURO 2020). Here are the four major travel challenges teams will face:

• 1. Massive Distances

  Simply put, the distances are enormous. While the figures on this page represent the minimum linear distance between venues, numbers exceeding 10,000 km are common. In reality, total travel will be significantly longer due to round trips to base camps.

• 2. Climate & Altitude

  Teams face temperature changes moving North-South and humidity changes moving East-West. The most critical factor is the altitude in Mexico. Some routes involve moving from Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium (300m above sea level) directly to Mexico City's Estadio Azteca (2,200m high altitude with thin air). This imposes a physical burden that air conditioning alone cannot solve.

• 3. Time Zones

  Spanning the North American continent means dealing with up to a 3-hour time difference. Traveling West to East (e.g., Los Angeles to New York) is particularly brutal; you lose 3 hours of sleep while already exhausted from travel. In a tight schedule (e.g., 3 rest days), this directly impacts recovery.

• 4. Border Control

  Routes between Canada/Mexico and the USA require passing through immigration every time. The mental stress and time lost in a "2,000km international flight" differ significantly from a "2,000km domestic flight."

2. Group Disparities

Group F: A Balanced Example

Group F (featuring Japan and the Netherlands) serves as a good example of a structurally balanced group. While it may not be as compact as Group I, it avoids the extreme logistical inequalities seen in other groups. The travel distances are distributed relatively evenly among the four teams, creating a fair competitive environment without the burden of excessive travel disparities found elsewhere.

Extreme Disparity: Groups A, B, J

Group J pairs Argentina, traveling only about 700km, with Algeria, which is forced to shuttle between Kansas City and San Francisco (2,400km apart with a 2-hour time difference). Algeria faces a significant disadvantage compared to Argentina and Austria.

Group B is tough for the UEFA Path A winner. They must travel: Group Stage → Toronto → (3,500km) → Los Angeles → (1,500km) → Seattle. Compare this to Qatar in the same group, who finishes 3 matches with only 1,500km of travel on the West Coast.

Group A mixes teams with easy travel (Mexico: 922km, Korea: 639km) and those with brutal itineraries (South Africa: 3,936km, UEFA Path D: 4,526km). UEFA Path D has it worst: traveling to Atlanta for the 2nd match, then back to high altitude for the 3rd. Mexico essentially enjoys a "VIP schedule" with 3 home games.

The "Travel" Jackpot (Group I)

While competitively arguably the "Group of Death" (France, Senegal, Norway), Group I is an absolute paradise logistically.
Matches are concentrated in the Northeast corridor (New York, Philadelphia, Boston), keeping the average travel distance to just 700km—the only group under 1,000km. Even the worst-case scenario (Playoff 2) is only 976km.
For the team that survives this tough group as the winner, the reward is a highly compact Knockout Stage schedule. Excluding the host nations, this is the undisputed "Jackpot" group.

Grp	Stats (km)		Travel Distance by Team (km)
	Avg	Gap	1st (Shortest)	2nd	3rd	4th (Longest)
J	2,767	4,109	Argentina731	Jordan2,383	Austria3,114	Algeria4,840
A	2,505	3,887	Korea Republic639	Mexico922	South Africa3,936	UEFA Path D4,526
B	3,043	3,563	Qatar1,476	Switzerland2,299	Canada3,359	UEFA Path A5,039
G	1,740	2,895	Egypt195	Iran1,740	New Zealand1,935	Belgium3,090
D	1,694	2,531	Paraguay559	Australia1,288	UEFA Path C1,840	USA3,090
E	2,463	2,344	Ivory Coast1,080	Germany2,644	Curaçao2,705	Ecuador3,424
L	1,738	2,249	Panama550	Ghana1,128	Croatia2,477	England2,799
K	2,611	2,101	Portugal1,557	Uzbekistan2,338	Colombia2,891	PO 13,658
F	1,433	691	UEFA Path B1,027	Netherlands1,403	Tunisia1,585	Japan1,718
C	1,780	518	Haiti1,507	Brazil1,776	Morocco1,812	Scotland2,025
H	2,358	429	Saudi Arabia2,104	Spain2,367	Uruguay2,430	Cabo Verde2,533
I	676	426	Senegal550	France566	Norway612	PO 2976

3. Group Winner vs. Runner-up Scenarios

Group F: The "Runner-up" Advantage?

Along with Group H, Group F is one of the rare cases where finishing 2nd is logistically superior.
While the Group Winner faces a lighter opponent in the Round of 16, they are penalized later with a grueling 7,000km cross-country tour (Boston → Dallas → NY) from the Quarter-finals onward. Conversely, the Runner-up stays relatively local. For teams like the Netherlands or Japan, winning the group is strategically correct, but logistically punishing—a strange paradox in the tournament bracket.

Exceptions: Group H (The Ultimate Dilemma)

Group H presents the tournament's most difficult strategic paradox.
If a team (e.g., Spain) wins the group, they are condemned to a punishing "boomerang" route exceeding 12,000km. Starting in the East (Atlanta), they must zigzag between the West Coast (LA) and Central (Dallas), before flying all the way back to New York. In a high-intensity tournament where recovery is everything, this constant jet lag and lack of a stable base camp is a massive handicap.

In stark contrast, the 2nd place route keeps the team in Atlanta for 4 consecutive matches. This offers perfect stability, zero travel fatigue, and full acclimatization to the venue.

The Reality: Finishing 2nd likely means facing the World Champions, Argentina, in the Round of 32. Normally, this is a nightmare scenario to be avoided at all costs. However, the physical toll of the "Winner's Route" is so severe that facing Argentina with a fully rested squad might actually be preferable to avoiding them but playing exhausted. It is a choice between a "competitive nightmare" and a "logistical nightmare"—and in 2026, the logistics might be the deadlier opponent.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium Official Site
Air Conditioning at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
(The retractable roof and climate control make it a comfortable venue.)

Group K

Portugal (Group K) faces a tough road. Winning the group sends them from Kansas to Vancouver—a 2,500km flight plus immigration, climate shock, and a schedule disadvantage (88 hours rest vs opponent's 113 hours). Finishing 2nd isn't much better, sending them to Toronto with similar climate/travel issues.

Other Groups

For most other groups, the schedule is designed "normally": finishing 1st usually results in less travel than finishing 2nd.

4. Best & Worst Travel Itineraries

The Winners (Low Burden)

As mentioned, Group I is structurally the "VIP Group" for the winner. Matches up to the Quarter-finals are contained within a 300km radius (New York, Philadelphia, Boston). They only travel to Dallas (Central) for the Semi-final.

Mexico & Korea also have efficient routes if they win their group: Guadalajara/Mexico City → Miami → Atlanta → New York. No wasted movement. However, finishing 2nd creates a travel nightmare.

The Hidden Victims

UEFA Path D (Denmark, Czechia, etc.)

The absolute worst scenario in the tournament. If UEFA Path D finishes 2nd and reaches the final, their linear travel distance hits 16,500km—3.2 times longer than Mexico's shortest route. The route is so zigzagged it looks like a mileage run, not a tournament schedule.
Please root for UEFA Path D; they need it. (Winning the group reduces this to a manageable 8,700km).

Colombia / Playoff 1 (Group K)

Whether 1st or 2nd, they face over 12,000km of travel. Even their "optimal" 1st-place route is double the distance of France or Mexico's route.

5. Summary

It has been discussed extensively, but the numbers confirm it: adaptation to travel, time zones, and climate will be critical in 2026. Success will depend not just on the players, but on the management capabilities of the staff—schedule management, recovery protocols, and logistics. Watching the tournament from this logistical perspective might add another layer of depth to the viewing experience. (Let's just hope we don't see too many injuries due to the brutal schedule...)

6. Total Travel Distance Ranking (If Qualifying 1st)

No.	Grp	Team	Total (km)	Group Stage Route (1st → 2nd → 3rd)	Knockout Stage Route (R32 → 16 → QF → SF → Final)
1	A1	Mexico	5,163	Mexico City → Guadalajara → Mexico City	Mexico City → Mexico City → Miami → Atlanta → NY
2	A3	Korea Republic	5,586	Guadalajara → Guadalajara → Monterrey	Mexico City → Mexico City → Miami → Atlanta → NY
3	G2	Egypt	6,133	Seattle → Vancouver → Vancouver	Seattle → Seattle → LA → Dallas → NY
4	I1	France	6,137	NY → Philadelphia → Boston	NY → Philadelphia → Boston → Dallas → NY
5	I4	Norway	6,183	Boston → NY → Boston	NY → Philadelphia → Boston → Dallas → NY
6	I2	Senegal	6,365	NY → NY → Toronto	NY → Philadelphia → Boston → Dallas → NY
7	B3	Qatar	6,480	San Francisco → Vancouver → Seattle	Vancouver → Vancouver → Kansas City → Atlanta → NY
8	I3	Playoff 2	6,791	Boston → Philadelphia → Toronto	NY → Philadelphia → Boston → Dallas → NY
9	J1	Argentina	6,870	Kansas City → Dallas → Dallas	Miami → Atlanta → Kansas City → Atlanta → NY
10	E3	Ivory Coast	7,087	Philadelphia → Toronto → Philadelphia	Boston → Philadelphia → Boston → Dallas → NY
11	B4	Switzerland	7,108	San Francisco → LA → Vancouver	Vancouver → Vancouver → Kansas City → Atlanta → NY
12	D2	Paraguay	7,395	LA → San Francisco → San Francisco	San Francisco → Seattle → LA → Dallas → NY
13	G3	Iran	7,678	LA → LA → Vancouver	Seattle → Seattle → LA → Dallas → NY
14	G4	New Zealand	7,678	LA → Vancouver → Seattle	Seattle → Seattle → LA → Dallas → NY
15	D3	Australia	8,124	Vancouver → Seattle → San Francisco	San Francisco → Seattle → LA → Dallas → NY
16	L4	Panama	8,150	Toronto → Toronto → NY	Atlanta → Mexico City → Miami → Atlanta → NY
17	B1	Canada	8,168	Toronto → Vancouver → Vancouver	Vancouver → Vancouver → Kansas City → Atlanta → NY
18	E1	Germany	8,521	Houston → Toronto → NY	Boston → Philadelphia → Boston → Dallas → NY
19	J4	Jordan	8,522	San Francisco → San Francisco → Dallas	Miami → Atlanta → Kansas City → Atlanta → NY
20	L3	Ghana	8,599	Toronto → Boston → Philadelphia	Atlanta → Mexico City → Miami → Atlanta → NY
21	E2	Curaçao	8,712	Houston → Kansas City → Philadelphia	Boston → Philadelphia → Boston → Dallas → NY
22	A4	UEFA Path D	8,767	Guadalajara → Atlanta → Mexico City	Mexico City → Mexico City → Miami → Atlanta → NY
23	G1	Belgium	8,833	Seattle → LA → Seattle	Seattle → Seattle → LA → Dallas → NY
24	C3	Haiti	8,850	Boston → Philadelphia → Atlanta	Houston → NY → Miami → Atlanta → NY
25	A2	South Africa	8,883	Mexico City → Atlanta → Monterrey	Mexico City → Mexico City → Miami → Atlanta → NY
26	C2	Morocco	9,155	NY → Boston → Atlanta	Houston → NY → Miami → Atlanta → NY
27	D4	UEFA Path C	9,235	Vancouver → San Francisco → LA	San Francisco → Seattle → LA → Dallas → NY
28	E4	Ecuador	9,301	Philadelphia → Kansas City → NY	Boston → Philadelphia → Boston → Dallas → NY
29	J3	Austria	9,466	San Francisco → Dallas → Kansas City	Miami → Atlanta → Kansas City → Atlanta → NY
30	C1	Brazil	9,548	NY → Philadelphia → Miami	Houston → NY → Miami → Atlanta → NY
31	C4	Scotland	9,797	Boston → Boston → Miami	Houston → NY → Miami → Atlanta → NY
32	F3	UEFA Path B	9,831	Monterrey → Houston → Dallas	Monterrey → Houston → Boston → Dallas → NY
33	L2	Croatia	9,948	Dallas → Toronto → Philadelphia	Atlanta → Mexico City → Miami → Atlanta → NY
34	B2	UEFA Path A	10,043	Toronto → LA → Seattle	Vancouver → Vancouver → Kansas City → Atlanta → NY
35	L1	England	10,399	Dallas → Boston → NY	Atlanta → Mexico City → Miami → Atlanta → NY
36	D1	USA	10,485	LA → Seattle → LA	San Francisco → Seattle → LA → Dallas → NY
37	F2	Japan	10,522	Dallas → Monterrey → Dallas	Monterrey → Houston → Boston → Dallas → NY
38	K3	Uzbekistan	10,756	Mexico City → Houston → Atlanta	Kansas City → Vancouver → Kansas City → Atlanta → NY
39	K1	Portugal	10,887	Houston → Houston → Miami	Kansas City → Vancouver → Kansas City → Atlanta → NY
40	F1	Netherlands	10,933	Dallas → Houston → Kansas City	Monterrey → Houston → Boston → Dallas → NY
41	F4	Tunisia	11,115	Monterrey → Monterrey → Kansas City	Monterrey → Houston → Boston → Dallas → NY
42	J2	Algeria	11,192	Kansas City → San Francisco → Kansas City	Miami → Atlanta → Kansas City → Atlanta → NY
43	K2	Playoff 1	12,076	Houston → Guadalajara → Atlanta	Kansas City → Vancouver → Kansas City → Atlanta → NY
44	K4	Colombia	12,221	Mexico City → Guadalajara → Miami	Kansas City → Vancouver → Kansas City → Atlanta → NY
45	H3	Saudi Arabia	12,492	Miami → Atlanta → Houston	LA → Dallas → LA → Dallas → NY
46	H1	Spain	12,637	Atlanta → Atlanta → Guadalajara	LA → Dallas → LA → Dallas → NY
47	H4	Uruguay	12,700	Miami → Miami → Guadalajara	LA → Dallas → LA → Dallas → NY
48	H2	Cabo Verde	12,921	Atlanta → Miami → Houston	LA → Dallas → LA → Dallas → NY