World Cup Group Stage Miles Travelled: Which Team Has The Most Difficult Path to Qualification?

By Mark Fordham

May 6th, 2026 10:01 AM EDT

For the first time in its history, the World Cup will see three separate countries hosting the biggest party of the summer. With 48 teams taking part for the first time, logistics are a big part of the conversation for teams this year. And while all three of the USA, Mexico and Canada are on the same continent, there is plenty of distance between the three. Not just that, there are multiple time zones and different altitudes that could impact the way you look at the favourites at World Cup betting sites.

To that end, Bookies.com has attempted to make things easier for World Cup punters by crunching the numbers on which teams have the easiest travel schedules of the tournament. The logic being that, less mileage, traveling through time zones and playing at different altitudes should set teams up to qualify out of their groups. 

Each of the 48 teams were scored on three measures for the group stage: miles travelled between matches (miles determined as the crow flies), time zones crossed and cumulative altitude changes. The measures were weighted 40-30-30 and teams given a travel score out of 100.

Favourites France and Argentina Have Scheduling Advantage

As if some teams weren’t already massively favoured due to their general footballing ability, how little they will travel is sure to give them a huge edge, too. 2018 winners France play all three of their Group I games in the north-east, travelling a total of just 339 miles between East Rutherford, Philadelphia and Foxborough.

In fact, if Les Bleus win their group and go on to reach a third consecutive World Cup final, seven of their eight total games will be played in one of those three stadia. The semi-final is the only exception, as this will take place in Arlington.

The saving grace for the rest of Group I - Iraq, Norway and Senegal - is that their travel is similarly friendly, with the highest travel impacted score by our metric is Iraq with just 9/100.

World Cup holders Argentina have been given an extremely favourable draw, too, scoring just 7/100 on our travel metric. The reigning champions will open their campaign in Kansas City and then travel just 459 miles to Arlington, where they play their last two group games.

This is in stark contrast to the rest of their group, with Jordan’s score clocking in at 35, Austria at 42 and Algeria at a whopping 73 thanks to them having to travel from Kansas City to Santa Clara and then schlep back to Kansas City for a total of 2,981 miles and multiple time-zone changes.

Bosnia, Algeria, Czechia, South Africa Clocking Up The Air Miles

Which team has done the most travelling is certainly something worth keeping an eye on for betting purposes, particularly for those final group games and first knock-out rounds. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Algeria, Czechia and South Africa have been handed tough travelling assignments, with Czechia getting dealt the worst hand in the competition.

They must travel over 2,800 miles to play their three games and go through four different time zones in the process. Their only comfort can come from knowing fellow Group A opponents South Africa have to travel almost as far to complete their assignments.

If you are planning on betting on World Cup odds, our map could be a handy indicator on who could have softer knock-out fixtures. The three teams that will probably be fighting for second place in Group K all have a lot of travelling to do, especially compared to their potential Group L opponents. Excessive travelling could lead to an easier fixture than it looks on paper.

An Uneven Playing Field For Some Teams

There’s never been a World Cup where the location of your games has played a bigger role. Those who score highest in our rankings have a combination of miles, time zones and altitude to contend with. On the other hand, those at the bottom won’t have to worry about the likes of jetlag, getting stiff in duty free queues or the general fun of travelling. 

The average score across all 48 teams is 28, meaning 20 of the 48 teams have a worse-than-average travel schedule. It’s worth noting that this group of 20 includes World Cup contenders such as England, Germany and Spain. At the other end of the spectrum, Brazil are the key beneficiaries aside from the aforementioned France and Argentina. All three of their group games take place on the east coast.

Hovering right around the average score mark are, ironically, three teams expected to do OK in the tournament without necessarily posing a major threat. Croatia, Belgium and co-hosts USA all find themselves with a score pretty close to 28. It may take some above-average luck for them to be lifting the trophy come mid-July.

Groups A and K Are Travel Nightmares

It’s rare that such an unassuming group gets attention before a World Cup has started but Groups A and K have certainly been noticed - at least by us.

Consisting of Czechia, South Africa, Mexico and South Korea, it’s unlikely that many people will be punting on a Group A team to win at football betting sites, but the sheer amount that all four teams have to travel makes it interesting. Czechia leads the way with a whopping 96/100 score on our scale, travelling almost 3,000 miles, whilst South Africa are second with a score of 81.

Mexico are fortunate in that all three of their group games are being played in their own country, but the altitudes of their fixtures puts them 26th out of the 48 teams - even if their players should acclimatised to that. South Korea are in a similar position to Mexico with all three games in the same country, but altitude means they’re still 30th in the rankings.

Group K is arguably worse for travel, though. Three of the teams in this particular quartet are ranked inside the top seven, with DR Congo (score of 78), Colombia (59) and Uzbekistan (57) all drawing the seriously short end of the stick. All three nations won’t be best pleased, but DR Congo will feel particularly aggrieved, with their schedule requiring them to travel over 2,250 miles.

Portugal are the only Group K team that will likely be pleased with this development. Already one of the favourites to win the World Cup, Portugal get to play their first two games in Houston and then travel 961 miles down to Miami for their third.

World Cup Betting Strategy: The Travel Tactic

Everyone is looking for an advantage when punting on the World Cup at top UK betting sites, and the teams who have to travel the least amount in the early goings after a long domestic season are sure to find things easier. It just so happens that Argentina and France - last World Cup’s finalists and two of this year’s favourites - have as easy a schedule as you could hope to ease them into the tournament. 

To the surprise of most, hosts Canada have to travel more than the majority of teams in the group stage, despite all of their games taking place in Canada! England’s attempt to end 60 years of hurt this time around shouldn’t be impacted too much, as they have come in the middle of the pack. 

Spain may be the contenders impacted the most, while if you weren’t already considering swerving the likes of Czechia, South Africa and DR Congo, it might be best to double check our numbers!

About the Author

Mark Fordham

More About Mark

Mark spent over a decade as a sports reporter and editor with Goal.com and Bleacher Report. He is now a Content Manager at Bookies.com covering all manner of sports from the Premier League and cricket to the NBA and NFL. Mark also has years of experience working in the online casino industry and knows how to rate a good one over a bad one.

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