The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, has been a tournament of historic firsts. However, not all of those firsts have been on the pitch. Just hours after Egypt recorded its first-ever World Cup victory, a stunning comeback from down 0-1 to winning against New Zealand 3-1 on Sunday, celebrations were cut short by a logistical roadblock.
United States security authorities denied the Egyptian national team permission to fly directly from Vancouver to Seattle, the site of their next and final group stage matchup against Iran. The team, now forced to return to their tournament training base in Spokane, Washington, will have to make the journey to Seattle later this week ahead of its June 26th match.
Egyptian National Team Denied Seattle Stay Ahead Of Friday Match
In the hours following its first-ever World Cup win, the players and coaching staff of the Egyptian national team were forced to return to Spokane rather than fly directly to Seattle ahead of Friday’s game. The Egyptians had wanted to fly directly to Seattle to allow for additional practice time and reduced travel time for players. According to the team, a request to stay in Seattle this week had been submitted, but it was ultimately rejected by local security officials.
The timing could hardly be worse for Egypt, who currently sit atop Group G with four points following their victory over New Zealand. Saturday’s clash with Iran in Seattle is effectively a winner-takes-group showdown, with Iran trailing Egypt by two points and a win being worth three points. This is also just the fourth time Egypt has ever qualified for the World Cup, with the last time the African country has advanced past the group stage being in 1934, also the country’s first World Cup appearance.
In a statement, the Egyptian manager, Hossam Hossan, said:
“The security authorities refused the team’s request to stay in the city of Seattle as planned after the New Zealand match in the World Cup, and therefore the team’s delegation will return to the city of Spokane. The team had wanted to travel directly to Seattle to preserve the players from travel fatigue due to the numerous trips in preparation for the Iran match on June 26.”
How Has Egypt Been Traveling To Its World Cup Matches?
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup being hosted in three different countries and 16 cities, all the 48 qualifying teams have chosen a “home base” for training before the tournament and in-between matches. Egypt has been using Spokane, Washington as its World Cup training base, some 280 miles east of Seattle and 412 miles east-southeast of Vancouver.
Like many of the other teams, Egypt has been traveling via specially chartered flights to and from its World Cup matches. To reach Vancouver for Sunday’s showdown against New Zealand, the squad flew outbound on Breeze Airways flight MX6840 from Spokane International Airport (GEG) to Vancouver International Airport (YVR), departing Spokane on June 19th at 11:26am and arriving in Vancouver at 12:25pm. The flight was flown by one of Breeze’s 60 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, configured with 12 domestic first class recliners and 125 economy seats in a 2-3 layout, each with 30-31 inches of pitch.
For the return leg, flying back to Spokane instead of to Seattle as hoped, the team was scheduled to depart on an Air Canada charter flight, operated as AC7005 onboard an Airbus A320. With only 20 A320s in its fleet, this Air Canada Airbus narrowbody featured 14 business class recliners in a 2-2 layout and 132 economy seats in a classic 3-3 arrangement. Each economy seat featured 32 inches of pitch and 18-inch wide seats, enough for the short one-hour hop back to Spokane.
It is unknown whether the team will fly or drive onboard the team bus to Seattle. The flight time from Spokane to Seattle averages an hour while driving takes roughly four hours.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins June 11 across North America.
Egypt Is Not The Only World Cup Team Facing Travel Barriers
While Egypt’s situation is no doubt frustrating, its opponent on Friday is in an entirely different category. The Iranian national team has been operating under perhaps the most extraordinary logistical constraints ever imposed on a World Cup team.
Denied permission to establish a training base within the United States, the Iranian team has been training in Tijuana, Mexico, just across the border from San Diego. However, unlike how Egypt and nearly every other team are able to stay overnight on location ahead of each match, the Iranian team must commute from Tijuana to each city before every match. The team must then fly back to Mexico on the same day as the match ends, regardless of how late.
Iran’s manager Amir Ghalenoei has admitted that “these constraints have made it very difficult for us,” with the team filing an official complaint over the situation. While Egypt’s travel circumstances aren’t as challenging as the Iranian team’s, the squad must now alter their travel plans just days before one of the most consequential matches in the country’s World Cup history.
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