Sports
Who has the most travel at 2026 World Cup? And why does it matter?
So begins the countdown to the World Cup, which kicks off on Thursday June 11, 2026 in Mexico City when El Tri take on South Africa. With just six months to go, final preparations are now on the table following last Friday’s draw for the tournament.
In addition to tactics and on-the-field plans, teams will now have to consider the off-the-field logistics of lengthy travel that will run through the three North American host countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Keeping in mind the hundreds if not thousands of miles that the participants will have to cover, travel arrangements and planning is no straightforward task.
In a sport that is often laser-focused on finding and exploiting the marginal gains that can sometimes make or break your quest to win a championship, and one in which the globe’s best of the best play for clubs in smaller European nations, there is a lot to keep in mind for every team set to do battle in North America next summer.
Luckily for those who are mapping out their North American plans, there are previous lessons that have been learned by clubs across the continent who know plenty about traversing down those beaten paths.
At the previous 2022 edition in Qatar, national teams quickly traversed a country that’s smaller in square miles than Connecticut, but when they arrive in North America next summer, it’s safe to say they might need to do just a little more moving around.
2026 World Cup group-stage travel at a glance
• Of the three host nations for next summer’s World Cup, Mexico has the most gentle travel for their three group stage games against South Korea, South Africa and a playoff qualifier from UEFA (Denmark, North Macedonia, Czechia or Republic of Ireland), with Canada traveling the longest distances to face Qatar, Switzerland and a different playoff qualifier from UEFA (Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina). The U.S. will travel between Seattle and Los Angeles for their group matches against Paraguay, Australia and a playoff qualifier from UEFA (Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo).
• Some of the hopefuls to win it all in North America next summer face wildly different travel experiences. Holders Argentina will face little logistical difficulty with their games in Dallas and Kansas City, while 2022 runners-up France also face a generous schedule keeping them in the north-east for the duration of Group I. The biggest losers? England, who will be in Massachusetts and Texas for their games against Croatia, Ghana and Panama.
• The 2026 World Cup across three countries provides more complex travel arrangements than Qatar 2022, for obvious reasons given the smaller size of that host nation, but this might be a lighter load than Brazil 2014, which saw teams traveling on average more than 2,000 miles more during the group stage.
The repercussions of long travel
Some people do postgraduate work in medicine; others dive into philosophy or chemistry. San Diego FC‘s head of human performance Luke Jenkinson says, “My PhD is investigating the impact of travel in North American soccer.”
Jenkinson, author of a paper in review called “Crossing Time Zones and Touch Lines” for the Journal of Sports Sciences, was quick to note what can happen after such lengthy excursions. Like the usual rhythms of a 90-minute game, the personal patterns of fine-tuned players are disrupted by travel fatigue, which can alter their circadian rhythms. Sleep disturbances are an obvious negative result — any frequent flyer can tell you that — but it can also change how players can metabolize meals.
“Potential increases with digestive distress, which is an important one, because it’s uncomfortable and it’s not pleasant,” said Jenkinson, who helped San Diego FC achieve MLS’s best away record this season. “If we have gastrointestinal distress, the absorption of those nutrients, and in particular, those carbohydrates, can be significantly impacted, and then also from a hydration perspective.”
Tired, missing crucial nutrients and probably irritated due to “digestive distress,” it’s no surprise what happens to teams that don’t properly mitigate these issues.
“You can see it so many times. Tons of muscle injuries occur during all those trips and lack of recovery,” said Jon Poli, head of physical preparation for the 2025 MLS Cup finalists, Vancouver Whitecaps.
These long trips aren’t entirely for sitting still, either; flight time is also valuable recovery time.
“[We] make sure that we get up and move, not just sit in the seats the entire time,” said Pacific FC coach James Merriman, who has to make a staggering 5,574-mile round trip (to face HFX Wanderers in Halifax, Nova Scotia) during his furthest away game in the Canadian Premier League. “Make sure that the players are up, getting a little activation and movement, stretching. It’s bad, it’s tough, it’s difficult. But you have to move past it.”
Another possible pitfall national teams could face next year — particularly when needing to cross more than a time zone or two through the scorching summer heat — is an unexpected one.
“I would say the biggest mistake … more than anything, teams actually sometimes go a little too early,” Poli said. “Some teams will travel two days before and they’re trying to transition players. Game time could come around, and the player’s circadian rhythm is kind of all out of whack.”
With all this in mind, what could be done? For the host countries such as the United States, Canada and Mexico, they will not do much traveling compared to their other competitors. The US and Mexico will even stay in the same region.
The extra 1% to 2%: Mattresses, pancakes, lack of spicy food
Think of a typical flight. After having a few too many beverages en route to your vacation, you’re then greeted by the most notorious enemy of anyone on holiday: an uncomfortable hotel bed.
For Mathias Jørgensen, a Denmark international for the LA Galaxy who took part in the 2018 World Cup, this was no problem a handful of years ago.
“There’s so many things that go into it to get those extra 1% or 2%. Denmark had a little partnership with a brand called Tempur — we were traveling with special mattresses so that wherever we went, we had our mattresses,” said the 35-year-old defender. “If the players wanted it, they would be transferred to every hotel we stayed at.”
In 2018, similar conversations about long distances were happening for the World Cup in Russia. Despite the fact that Denmark traveled 3,852 miles in the group stage — including to their base camp at the Sheraton Moscow Sheremetyevo hotel — Jørgensen highlighted his federation’s attention to detail that helped them qualify for the knockout round, where he later scored.
“With nutrition, with sleep, with everything,” Jørgensen said. “All the small things and getting [it] right.”
Regarding nutrition, part of San Diego FC’s “fuel and load” strategy prepares four meals from the night before an away match until kickoff on the day of the game. To avoid any stomach problems, there’s a limited amount of spicy flavors that go into these meals — although hot sauce is available. A variety of food options cater to the MLS club’s global roster, and there’s variation for a wide swath of palates, but there is one prematch secret weapon that helps those who need an extra boost of energy after an extended trip.
“In England, we would have a lot of American-style pancakes as our prematch meal,” Jenkinson said. “It’s a very easy way to consume levels of carbohydrates that are hyper-palatable.”
As well as pancakes for San Diego, morning team walks ahead of away matches are used to increase alertness before kickoff, and depending on the flight, the club can have a dim cabin for rest, or a fully lit plane when attempting to keep their players from going to sleep too early.
With an increase in MLS using chartered flights — something national teams will have next summer — there’s a flexibility that’s available for organizations that can turn planes into mobile locker rooms.
“We’re fortunate, obviously, that we fly not on commercial flights,” said Poli, who painted a picture of a cabin with Normatec compression boots, electrical stimulators, massages and players stretching. Unlike the CPL, or MLS from the days of 2013 MLS Cup winner Benny Feilhaber, private planes are a world of a difference for those who can use them.
“Sitting middle seat on a Southwest flight is a little different than flying charter,” joked Feilhaber.
The mentality game
Logistically, there’s also much more that goes into World Cup or club soccer preparation when you consider the small army of coaches, support staff, administrators, communications team members and more that will guide the players.
FIFA, seeking to minimize some of those logistical headaches, has separated the competition into west, central and east regions, thereby ensuring that there will be three days of rest for teams in 103 of the tournament’s 104 matches.
According to FIFA, no national team will need to fly coast to coast in the group stage. Base camp selections are also expected to be announced by January.
That said, when discussing travel, there’s no overlooking the uncontrollable variables that next summer’s weather could bring, from scorching temperatures or thunderstorms. Flight cancellations, delays — Feilhaber shared a story of once being stuck at an airport for six extra hours — are par for the course in North America.
A possible final piece for overcoming this beyond mattresses or chartered planes? Whether it be through experience in the more modest CPL, or the World Cup itself, one vital factor that was brought up was the right state of mind.
“I think the most important [thing] is the mentality. … Try not to make too big of a deal of it,” Pacific FC’s Merriman said. “If you see players drag themselves through it, or make comments about it, things like that, then for sure you’re going to feel the travel, you’re going to feel the time difference, all those things.”
Jørgensen, in a message to those heading out next summer, stressed that it’s an opportunity to take advantage of.
“Being lucky enough to visit different countries is like a blessing,” he said. “Recovery is just as much mental as it is physical.
“Come in there with a great mindset, you do your things, you hydrate, you make sure that you’ve done everything you have, and then you’re smiling and enjoying being a part of the biggest tournament in the world, the biggest sporting event in the world.”
We’ll see who is left smiling after covering thousands of miles next year.
NEW YORK — For a 22nd straight year, LeBron James is an All-Star.
The NBA announced its reserves for the Feb. 15 midseason showcase Sunday night on NBC before James and his Los Angeles Lakers faced the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Voting was conducted by the league’s coaches over the past week.
James, 41, was the last player announced, as the league’s oldest player extended his record for both overall and consecutive selections by another season.
“Super humbling,” James said Sunday night, after the Lakers lost to the Knicks 112-100. “The coaches voted, right, so mad respect to the coaches and them seeing the way I’m still playing at this latter stage of my career.
“And to be able to be an All-Star means a lot to my family, people that have been following my career, my LeBron faithful. They’ve been following my journey and it’s always rewarding just from a humbling standpoint to be able to be rewarded for what you put your work into.”
James did not play in last season’s All-Star event because of injury.
“You think about a star player, their prime is their All-NBA, All-Star years,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “And you know, he’s basically had a 20-plus-year prime. It’s kind of unheard of. It is unheard of, uncharted, whatever you want to call it. I mean, it’s incredible. It’s a testament to the work that he puts in.”
James was joined on the court Sunday by three other All-Stars: starters Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson, and fellow reserve selection Karl-Anthony Towns.
“Of course he deserves it,” teammate Doncic said of James. “He’s playing at a top level still at that age. It’s incredible to share the floor with him.”
The reserves named with James were led by Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant, whose 16th All-Star selection is fourth most of all time — breaking a tie with Hall of Famers Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett and putting him behind only Kobe Bryant (18), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19) and James.
Joining James and Durant as Western Conference reserve selections included a trio of first-time participants — Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren and Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija — plus Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (fourth) and Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (fifth).
“Multiple 50-point games, multiple 50-point games in the playoffs, let’s see, triple-double in the finals, NBA champion, most wins in the West over the last 10 years, he’s the point guard of that team … in my mind, all those things make sense, except for the one that was missing,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said of Murray.
In the Eastern Conference, Towns — making his sixth All-Star team — was joined by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (seventh), Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (fourth), Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (second) and a trio of first-time picks: Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren, Miami Heat guard Norman Powell and Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson.
“I believe that he deserves it, and I think probably one of the best compliments you can give him is the fact that he starred in all of his roles that he’s had in his career, and he just continues to get better,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Powell. “He’s having his best years now after the age of 30.”
Under the NBA’s latest format change for the event — U.S. vs. the World — the 24 All-Star participants will be divided into three eight-player rosters — two featuring Americans, with the third made up of international players. They will each play two 12-minute games, with the two teams with the best record — or the two with the best point differential if they all go 1-1 — facing each other in the championship game.
The All-Star Game will take place at the LA Clippers‘ arena (Intuit Dome) in Inglewood, California. The Clippers were notably absent from Sunday’s announcement; despite going 16-4 over their past 20 games to partially erase a brutal start to the season, the team didn’t have any of its players selected for this year’s event.
Either Clippers star Kawhi Leonard — who since Dec. 20 has led the league in scoring and steals — or Rockets center Alperen Sengun is probably the best candidate to replace Milwaukee‘s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will sit out the game because of a calf injury. NBA commissioner Adam Silver will pick a replacement for Antetokounmpo, plus any additional players should the need arise.
Other players chosen last month as starters were: Boston‘s Jaylen Brown, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Philadelphia‘s Tyrese Maxey, Golden State‘s Stephen Curry, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and San Antonio‘s Victor Wembanyama.
Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff will coach one of the All-Star teams. Either San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson or Adelman will coach another — that will be decided by results of games Sunday — and the NBA has not announced how the coach of the third team will be decided.
Bickerstaff earned his nod because the Pistons lead the Eastern Conference. Johnson or Adelman will go by having the best record in the Western Conference among eligible coaches; Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault coaches the team with the West’s best record, but he cannot coach the All-Star Game this year because he coached at the event last season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Zach Kram
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Kevin Pelton
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Kevin Pelton
ESPN Senior Writer
- Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus series
- Formerly a consultant with the Indiana Pacers
- Developed WARP rating and SCHOENE system
Multiple Authors
As the calendar turns to February, the 2026 NBA All-Star Game is just two weeks away. The starters were announced on Jan. 19 and include Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the West. Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tyrese Maxey were named the starters in the East.
The reserves were announced on Sunday, including Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Kevin Durant in the West, as well as Donovan Mitchell and Karl-Anthony Towns in the East.
ESPN NBA Insiders Zach Kram and Kevin Pelton break down the full East and West rosters, including biggest surprises and snubs, and make their bold predictions.
Which player were you most surprised to see on the roster?
Pelton: LeBron James is the clear choice, but seeing Karl-Anthony Towns pop up was surprising given the pessimism over how he’s played this season on top of the Knicks’ recent slump. I think teammate Mikal Bridges has been New York’s second-best player after starter Jalen Brunson. Given Towns’ track record, the choice is certainly reasonable yet surprising nonetheless.
Kram: LeBron. It sounds silly to be surprised that a player who had made the last 21 All-Star games would make it 22 in a row. But given that James missed the first month and that his counting stats are down in his age-41 season, as well as the fierce competition in the Western Conference player pool, it was a surprise that his was the last name unveiled during the All-Star roster announcement.
Which player were you most surprised to see left off?
Pelton: Kawhi Leonard. Unless this is a secret part of the punishment from the NBA’s investigation into Leonard’s endorsement deal with Aspiration, I don’t get it. Leonard has been a top-10 player this season, and following a dreadful start, the LA Clippers have been one of the league’s hottest teams since Christmas. Anthony Edwards was the only West reserve I would have picked over Leonard. If I was taking a multi-time Finals MVP playing in L.A., Leonard was an easy choice over James.
Kram: Alperen Sengun was a first-time All-Star last season, has improved as a defender and has better counting stats across the board this year while helping lead the Houston Rockets to the second-best point differential in the West. New Rocket Kevin Durant was a shoo-in, but I think Sengun should have given Houston a second All-Star representative, even if that meant Devin Booker missed out and the surprising Phoenix Suns didn’t get a single player on the team.
Are we getting close to enough international All-Stars to do a normal USA/World 12 vs. 12 game?
Pelton: We might be closer to even in terms of internationals than East vs. West. Some of the answer depends on how creative the NBA is willing to get with its definition of international. Donovan Mitchell made the case recently to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears that he’d like to represent Panama, where his grandmother was born. If the NBA pushed every possible case like that or Kyrie Irving (born in Australia, though he grew up in the U.S.), they could get to 12 without diluting the meaning of being an All-Star.
Kram: There are almost enough worthy international players to round out a 12-person roster; if that were the framework this season, the eight actual international All-Stars would likely be joined by Sengun, Lauri Markkanen, Franz Wagner (despite a lack of playing time) and Joel Embiid. (Embiid was born in Cameroon but plays for Team USA internationally; the NBA could also choose to slot Towns, who was born in New Jersey but plays for the Dominican Republic, as an international representative.) Josh Giddey, OG Anunoby and Dillon Brooks have outside cases as well.
However, those players largely don’t have better All-Star cases than the ninth-through-12th-best Americans, so I wouldn’t advocate such a consequential change just yet. Let’s see how the format works with three teams (two American, one international) this year before deciding if the NBA should change the All-Star format once again.
Give us one bold prediction for the All-Star Game/mini-tournament.
Pelton: The NBA enjoys a short-term benefit from changing the format. Drafting teams and introducing a target score (aka the “Elam ending”) resulted in more competitive games initially before devolving into the defense-free play we’ve seen since. I could see the international team in particular taking things seriously and forcing their American opponents to up their game. However, I don’t see this or anything else “fixing” the All-Star Game long-term.
Kram: Victor Wembanyama takes MVP honors. Big men rarely win this award at the All-Star game — it’s gone to a guard or wing in 13 of the last 15 years, with Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo as the lone exceptions — but Wembanyama is so competitive that he’ll gain an advantage just by taking the event seriously. In his first All-Star game last year, he led his team in scoring (11 points in seven minutes), and he and Chris Paul were disqualified for trying to exploit a loophole in the skills challenge.
Coach Álvaro Arbeloa admitted Jude Bellingham is “an important loss” after the midfielder was substituted just 10 minutes into Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. The club confirmed on Sunday evening that the issue was with Bellingham’s left hamstring.
Kylian Mbappé scored a 100th-minute penalty to give Madrid the three points in LaLiga after a tough game which saw Rayo’s Jorge de Frutos level after Vinícius Júnior‘s early goal, before the visitors had two players sent off.
The Bernabéu crowd whistled the team pre-match — and again as they struggled during the second half — after Madrid’s midweek defeat at Benfica in the Champions League.
“We don’t know about Jude yet,” Arbeloa said in his post-match news conference, when asked about Bellingham’s injury.
The England international had gone down clutching his thigh after chasing a ball down the right wing with the game still goalless, and after being consoled by teammates, limped off the pitch, looking visibly upset and wiping away tears, as he was replaced by substitute Brahim Díaz.
“[Bellingham] has made a great effort in every game since I’ve been here,” Arbeloa said. “It’s a very important loss, but we have an extraordinary squad.”
Bellingham will now undergo tests to determine the extent of the problem.
The 22-year-old’s injury could be a major concern for England boss Thomas Tuchel ahead of Wembley friendlies against Uruguay and Japan next month.
Bellingham was one of the players — alongside Vinícius — singled out by some fans with whistles before the game, as their names were announced on the stadium loudspeakers.
Bellingham has had an injury-hit season, missing the early part of the campaign after undergoing shoulder surgery last summer.
– Mbappé scores last-gasp penalty as Real Madrid edge Rayo
– Mourinho on Benfica-Madrid in UCL: We got the king
“I respect the Bernabéu crowd, and I’ll always ask for their support,” Arbeloa said, when asked about the whistles.
Arbeloa insisted that Madrid hadn’t been fortunate to be given nine minutes of added time at the end of the second half, with their winning penalty being awarded in the 98th minute, and Mbappé scoring two minutes later.
“It could have been more,” Arbeloa said. “Every time visiting teams take a goal kick here, it takes a minute.”
The coach admitted that his team need to be more consistent, after a difficult start to his time in charge.
“I’m not Gandalf the White,” Arbeloa said, referring to the fictional wizard. “What I’m getting is what I wanted from my players: commitment and effort.”
Information from PA was used in this report.
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