Staggering total cost for a family to see England win 2026 World Cup in North America revealed

A general view of the stadium during the sunset ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group A football match between Portugal's Porto FC and Egypt's Al-Ahly at the MetLife stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on June 23, 2025.
The MetLife stadium in New Jersey will host the 2026 World Cup final (Image credit: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

The 2026 World Cup is set to break numerous records: more games than ever, more prize money than ever, and sadly, more expensive for fans than ever before.

Ticket prices for the tournament in North America have been widely criticised by supporters across the globe - and that is before you factor in the cost of travel and accommodation.

FIFA introduced a small number of "more affordable" $60 (£45) tickets in response to the backlash, but fans going to the World Cup still face paying thousands of pounds to follow their team this summer.

Eye-watering total cost for a family to see England win the 2026 World Cup revealed

England players celebrate after Myles Lewis-Skelly scored the opening goal in the 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Albania at Wembley Stadium, London, March 2025

England are among the favourites to win the World Cup (Image credit: Alamy)

The number of countries participating in this summer's tournament has increased from 32 to 48, meaning the two teams who reach the final will play eight games in North America, up from seven.

Thomas Tuchel's England will expect to reach the latter stages of the tournament, but with every match that goes by, the costs of following the Three Lions will only increase.

An England fan's calculations showing the cost of seeing England win the 2026 World Cup in North America for a family of five

The eye-watering cost of watching England win the World Cup has been revealed by one fan's calculations (Image credit: Football Funnys)

One England fan from the 'Football Funnys' Facebook community has estimated the total cost for a family of five to watch the Three Lions play all eight matches in North America, plus travel, accommodation and spending money - and it comes to an extraordinary £42,275.

The supporter's sums are based on buying a Category 3 ticket for every game, which is the middle tier in terms of pricing.

That would mean spending £265 per ticket for England's Group L opener against Croatia in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday, June 17, while the remaining group games - against Ghana on Tuesday, June 23 in Foxborough, Massachusetts and Panama on Saturday, June 27 in New Jersey - would set each fan back £220.

Predictably, prices start to rise as the knockout stages commence, with a last-32 game costing £235 per person and last-16 tickets set at £295 each.

The cost then sky-rockets in the quarter-finals, with Category 3 tickets priced at £680 each, and the equivalent seats coming in at £920 for the semi-final and a shocking £4,185 for the final at MetLife Stadium on July 19 - setting a family of five back almost £21,000 for one game alone.

Scotland players celebrate on the pitch after the FIFA World Cup 2026 European qualification football match between Scotland and Denmark at Hampden Park in Glasgow on November 18, 2025. Scotland scored two dramatic stoppage-time goals to beat 10-man Denmark 4-2 on Tuesday and reach the World Cup for the first time since 1998. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP)

Scotland have also booked their place at the World Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

That is even before factoring in return flights, which the supporter estimates will cost a family of five £2,500 in total, and accommodation, predicted to cost around £5,000 for four weeks in North America.

Finally, spending money of £200 per day then adds £5,600 to the total, while the overall cost of travelling to games across the tournament is estimated at £3,000.

Scotland fans will face the same dilemma after their country qualified for their first World Cup since 1998, but with costs like that, many supporters will be forced to watch from home.

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Freelance writer

James Roberts is a freelance sports journalist working for FourFourTwo. He has spent the past three years as a sports sub-editor for various national newspapers and started his career at the Oxford Mail, where he covered Oxford United home and away.

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