The Unanswered Question · World Cup 2026 · Pre-tournament analysis

Who really travels
the furthest?

48 teams. 16 host cities across three countries. Every team returns to base between each game. The tournament starts 11 June. These distances are calculable now — but only verifiable when the last team is eliminated. Knockout results will change every route. Third-place finishers face up to 8 different possible bracket destinations.

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Total tournament travel — base camp return trips for every game 48 teams
Pre-tournament projections. Distances are great-circle, doubled per game (each team returns to base). Expected = probability-weighted using pre-tournament bookmaker odds. Routes update as teams advance or are eliminated. Full methodology ↓  ·  Start: sort by Expected, then filter by confederation.
Group stage
Range (elim–max)
ExpectedProbability-weighted average across all finishing positions — not a real journey distance.
Route map
Click any team to see their routes
Also on this project
Did teams pick the right base camp? →
← Back to the full project
Pre-tournament projection. Distances are great-circle (haversine) between each team's confirmed base camp and each match venue, doubled for the return trip. Teams return to base between every fixture including knockout matches. For 1st and 2nd place finishers, the full bracket path through Round of 32, R16, QF, SF and Final is fixed by FIFA draw rules. For 3rd-place finishers, venues vary by which groups produce the 8 qualifying 3rd-place teams — the average is shown across all eligible bracket slots. Expected distance is probability-weighted using pre-tournament bookmaker odds (May 2026). Sources: FIFA official schedule, SportsTravel Magazine (base camps), MLS Soccer (confirmed venues), Wikipedia knockout bracket.