Argentinian and Colombian fans look tired while waiting to board their flight departing from Las Vegas in the early morning of June 27th - Photo: TR.N
They were just like us: they came to Dallas to watch the Jordan-Argentina match at the AT&T Stadium. Everyone was exhausted and sleepy. And it seemed that only those with "limited" budgets had to fly at such a high hour, in the middle of the night or early morning. In the 2026 World Cup season, there will be even more fans "coming out of love," wholeheartedly following their national team.
Unfortunately, North America is so vast that it makes life difficult for fans from all over the world. Considering travel distance, costs, time zone differences, flight times, and the pressure of following their teams, the most exhausted fans at the 2026 World Cup are those in Group J (Argentina, Algeria, Austria, and Jordan). This group has the most grueling journey for fans, with a total distance of over 10,000 km just in the group stage!
The "nightmare across America" also caused headaches for England fans when the Three Lions were based in Kansas City but had to play in Dallas, Boston, and then New York. Fans following their favorite superstars had to constantly book multiple flights and spend a lot of money on hotels (tripling up during peak season!).
If Portuguese fans fly all the way to Miami to watch Ronaldo play his final group stage match, then it will be the turn of Argentinian fans to fly to Miami to watch Messi play his second-round match against Cape Verde (July 3rd).
"It was a memorable experience, but also incredibly exhausting and expensive!" said Fernandez (a stockbroker from Buenos Aires) after dozing off on a bench in the Las Vegas airport waiting area for his early morning flight. "We spent money faster than we expected during our time in America following Messi. Everything is so expensive here!"
I sympathize with the Argentinian fans, because I also had to buy a two-way plane ticket from San Jose - Las Vegas - Dallas at four times the normal price (8 million VND), plus an additional carry-on baggage fee of over 2 million VND, just to cover the Jordan - Argentina match, only to find out at the last minute that Messi was only on the bench to rest!
It is estimated that the World Cup attracts over 6 million travelers between the US, Canada, and Mexico throughout the tournament. The total cost to watch a group stage match in expensive cities like the New York City/New Jersey area can reach nearly $3,000 per person when including tickets, flights, hotels, food, and transportation!
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ac-mong-xuyen-nuoc-my-theo-messi-100260627220903394.htm
