England are through to the last 16 of FIFA World Cup 2026, but the road ahead is long — in every sense. Thomas Tuchel's squad must now navigate a gauntlet of knock-out rounds, a last-minute kick-off change, and a condensed preparation window before facing Mexico, all while crossing the USA-Mexico border for the first time in this campaign.

Should England go all the way to the final, just how far will they have travelled? Working from straight-line distances between cities — rather than actual flight paths or road routes — the answer is a staggering approximately 25,500 miles from departure to return.

The journey so far

England's campaign began well before the group stage. The travelling party first flew out of Birmingham Airport to Florida, where two warm-up fixtures were played — against New Zealand in Tampa Bay and against Costa Rica in Orlando. The squad was based in West Palm Beach for those matches.

From Florida, England moved to their World Cup base in Kansas City. Group-stage fixtures then took them to Arlington for a match against Croatia at Dallas Stadium, to Foxborough where Boston Stadium hosted the clash with Ghana, and finally to New York New Jersey Stadium — where the final itself will be held — for the concluding group game against Panama.

Into the knock-out rounds

After the group stage, England returned to Kansas City before travelling to Atlanta to face DR Congo in the round of 32. The squad then crossed into Mexico for the round of 16 tie against Mexico at Mexico City Stadium.

If Tuchel's side progress, the route maps out as follows: a quarter-final back in Florida at Miami Stadium against Brazil or Norway, a semi-final in Atlanta, and then the final at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday, July 19.

By the time England land back on home soil — trophy in hand, if all goes to plan — the squad will have covered somewhere in the region of 25,500 miles. Every one of those miles, England fans will hope, will have been worth it.