Scotland is going to the World Cup, should you book a flight now?

Scotland fans are already turning their attentions to a trip across the Atlantic next year

As the dust settles on a historically jubilant night for Scotland's national men's team, many in the Tartan Army will be planning the holiday of a lifetime.

Hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada, the 2026 World Cup kicks off on 11 June - the biggest to date with 48 nations taking part.

But the groups will not be determined for another 16 days on 5 December - and we don't yet know where Scotland will be playing.

So what's the best way to plan around the uncertainty?

When to book World Cup travel?

Fans might feel reluctant to commit hundreds of pounds to travel costs at this stage without knowing where they're going.

Barrhead Travel has already released a number of World Cup travel packages, ranging from three nights in New York for £2,659 per person to 11 nights in California for £3,999.

According to Simon Calder, travel correspondent for the Independent, it might be worth booking a transatlantic flight to any host city, then navigating domestic flights when we know more.

"It's never too early to start planning travel to a big sporting event," he told the BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme.

"Sixteen days from now... all of this will be revealed at least at the group stages, at which point prices for flights and accommodation will go stratospheric.

"So you could – and this is my strategy – take a guess on a transatlantic flight now."

Opening stages are in the eastern, central and western regions, and Calder believes there's a 40% chance Scotland will be playing in the east.

American Airlines flights are currently available from Edinburgh to Philadelphia the day before the tournament begins, coming back the day after the group games end, for just over £700.

For the super optimistic, there are JetBlue tickets available from Edinburgh to New York the day before the final, returning the day after, for £750.

Where are the World Cup 2026 host cities?

Western region: Vancouver (Canada), Seattle (Washington state), San Francisco (California), Los Angeles (California)

Central region: Guadalajara (Mexico), Mexico City, Monterrey (Mexico), Houston (Texas), Dallas (Texas), Kansas City (Missouri)

Eastern region: Atlanta (Georgia), Miami (Florida), Toronto (Canada), Boston (Massachusetts), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), New York New Jersey (New York state)

More than 100 matches will be played across the tournament with the group stages kicking off on Thursday 11 June until Saturday 27 June.

The next rounds start the following day, carrying on until Tuesday 7 July.

After a rest day, the quarter finals begin on Thursday 9 July, the semi-finals begin on Tuesday 14 July.

The final has been set as Sunday 19 July.

What about World Cup 2026 hotels?

South Beach in Miami, one of the host cities

Hotels may be another source of anxiety, especially those who noticed during the match that some rooms in Vancouver and Boston were priced at £500 per night.

But Simon Calder says large sporting events do "weird things" to hotel markets, pointing out that during the Paris Olympics last year, he picked up a room for about £50.

"My strategy is to be very relaxed," he said. "All of the host cities have huge amounts of accommodation.

"I think those rates are going to come down, and so I would very happily leave it until a few weeks before, or even a few days beforehand, to get accommodation.

"Anybody who has been to America will know that there's always a small town 30 miles outside with plenty of motels strung out along the highway."

Who has qualified for the World Cup?

As of 18 November 2025, here are the teams who have qualified for the 2026 World Cup:

• Hosts: Canada, Mexico, United States

• Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

• Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan

• Europe: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland

• Oceania: New Zealand

• South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

• North and Central America and the Caribbean: Curacao, Panama, Haiti

The 48 participating teams will be placed into pots based on Fifa rankings. Participants will be drawn into a group of four teams. There will be 12 groups in total.

The teams representing the host counties will be assigned to specific groups in positions A1- Mexico, B1 - Canada and D1 - USA.

How much do tickets cost?

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has promised to "bring the world to the United States of America" - of course, the problem remains for fans to secure a ticket.

A dynamic pricing model is being used for the tournament - meaning prices for high-demand matches could go up significantly during later sales periods.

This system has the potential to benefit Americans while locking out foreign fans.

More than 4.5 million people entered a draw for the chance to buy the first batch at the start of October.

Fifa has not formally revealed a full price list, but they have been listed online by fans who successfully got through the draw and spent hours in digital queues.

General admission tickets are being split into four categories, with those for the first match in the USA costing between $560 (£417) and $2,235 (£1,662).

Tickets for the 2026 final have ranged between $2,030 (£1,510) and $6,000 (£4,462).

The Athletic also reports that Fifa will also implement 15% charges on both the buyer and seller of tickets resold via its official platform.

Fifa did not respond to questions put forward by the BBC.

A random selection draw will take place shortly after the groups are drawn on 5 December, during which fans can apply for specific matches.