Barely have to move

Four of the five shortest roads to the 2026 World Cup made it out of the group. The longest two did not.

Originally published on LinkedIn · June 29, 2026
Updated after the Final · July 22, 2026 See this post on LinkedIn ↗

Update · How the five roads ended

The knockouts have come and gone. The five shortest schedules:

Mexico · Swept Ecuador 2-0 in the round of 32: four wins, four clean sheets, still barely leaving home. That run is the next story.
Paraguay · Took Germany to penalties and won 4-3: Germany's third straight World Cup without reaching the last 16.
Ivory Coast · Out 1-2 to Norway in the round of 32: Norway's first ever knockout-stage win.
Senegal · Out 2-3 to Belgium after extra time in Seattle, having led with half an hour to go.
South Korea · Out in the group stage: the one short road that ended early.

Inspired by Ryan Jares, who measured how far every team travels in the group stage, and Flightradar24, where Sebastián Polito covers how each squad actually flew into North America, I rebuilt the model in kilometres, added the visa each team needs to enter the host country where it plays, and ranked all 48.

After the toughest five, here are the 5 shortest roads and how they held up:

MEX

Mexico Advanced · R32 vs Ecuador

📍 Base camp: Mexico City

Host nation, no inbound flight

VISA-FREE

1,005

KM ROUND TRIP

≈ 624 mi

The host plays all three group games at home, in Mexico City and Guadalajara. No inbound flight, no visa, the shortest schedule of all 48. Through to the round of 32, and Ecuador came next.

PAR

Paraguay Advanced · R32 vs Germany

📍 Base camp: San Jose, California

Gridiron Air Boeing 777 | Asunción → San Jose

VISA REQUIRED

1,029

KM ROUND TRIP

≈ 639 mi

Flew in on a Gridiron Air 777 charter, Asunción to San Jose, and stayed in California for all three games. Visa required for the US. Through, and Germany came next.

CIV

Ivory Coast Advanced · R32 vs Norway

📍 Base camp: Chester, Pennsylvania

Charter | Abidjan → Philadelphia

VISA REQUIRED

1,103

KM ROUND TRIP

≈ 685 mi

A charter into Philadelphia, base camp in Chester, games in Philly and Toronto. Visa required for the US and Canada. Through, and Norway came next.

SEN

Senegal Advanced · R32 vs Belgium

📍 Base camp: Piscataway, New Jersey

Charter | Dakar → US East Coast

VISA REQUIRED

1,269

KM ROUND TRIP

≈ 789 mi

In from Dakar to the East Coast, based in New Jersey, games in the New York area and Toronto. Visa required for the US and Canada. Through, and Belgium came next.

KOR

South Korea Out · Group stage

📍 Base camp: Guadalajara

Aeroméxico 737 MAX 8 | Salt Lake City → Guadalajara

VISA-FREE

1,327

KM ROUND TRIP

≈ 825 mi

The one short trip that ended early. Scheduled Aeroméxico from Salt Lake City to Guadalajara, a Mexico-only group, visa-free, but out in the group stage.

Distance is not destiny

But it is not nothing either. Four of the five shortest schedules made it out of the group stage and into the knockouts. At the other end of the table, the two most punishing roads of all 48, Curaçao and Jordan, went home without playing a single knockout game.

The rest of the model drops here first

All 48 teams ranked, Mexico's home advantage, and the business of the tournament - the full series lands on this site and on LinkedIn.

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