Scotland's Boston TA party at World Cup but £10k concern and nightmare kick-off times cause fans issues

The national team knows what lies ahead next summer at the greatest show on earth. Scotland are in Group C and will play old foes Brazil and Morocco, as well as Haiti. Two games will be in Massachusetts, the other in Florida. It is a glamorous itinerary.

After one of the most protracted - and at times cringeworthy - draw ceremonies in World Cup history on Friday night, the FIFA bigwigs cleared their heads and released the match schedule on Saturday evening.

Scotland start off against Haiti at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, on the outskirts of Boston, on Saturday, June 13 with a 9pm kick-off. For the majority of Scotland fans staying at home, that’s a 2am start on Sunday, June 14. The realities of a World Cup across the pond start to bite.

It gets a tiny bit better for the TV audiences with the next two matches. Scotland play again at Gillette Stadium on Friday, June 19 against Morocco at 6pm local time, 11pm BST. They then head south to Florida, for a date with Brazil on Wednesday, June 24 at Hard Rock Stadium, again at 6pm local time, 11pm BST. That is the final match of the group stages.

Geographically, Scotland have done okay out of this. It is expected to be cooler on the west coast of America in comparison to the east at that time of year, but having the first two matches at the same venue is a huge boost. Scotland head coach Steve Clarke and his backroom team are busy flicking through a dossier of training camps and one assumes they will want to be based in the north-east of USA.

That would minimise travel time and distances before a fairly generous three-hour flight down to Miami to take on the Brazilians, the top seeds in the group and anticipated hardest opponents.

Scotland’s tough World Cup pool

This is not an easy pool for Scotland. Morocco are one of the best teams in Africa and semi-finalists at the 2022 edition. They have arguably improved since then, ranked 11th in the world. A lot of pressure is on Scotland to win - and win well - against pot four side Haiti in their opener.

Scotland are likely to have the bulk of the support when they face the Haitians. US president Donald Trump has imposed a travel ban on the Caribbean nation as part of his immigration policy. This will be lifted for players and staff, but not fans. It could change - but for now, the Gillette Stadium will be bedecked in saltires.

Scots planning to travel will no doubt be content with the east coast of America. Flight times are not excessive and airports are plentiful via a number of direct routes, while going via other European hubs is fairly straightforward. Facing Brazil in Miami has an exotic appeal to it. One hopes it is the city where Scotland continue their journey, not end it.

Finishing in the top two or being one of the eight best-ranked third-placed teams would secure passage to the last 32. Scotland have never made it out of the groups. The format gives Scotland their best possible chance.

Both the Gillette Stadium and Hard Rock Stadium hold just under 65,000 spectators. Scotland could have opened against the Haitians at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, with more than 80,000 seats. The other two matches could have been played at similarly-sized venues in Philadelphia or Atlanta.

Clarke and the players may lament going to Florida rather than Georgia for the clash with Brazil. It will be hot and humid in Miami, with the average temperature in late June creeping above 30C. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta has a retractable roof and air conditioning. The weather will suit Brazil better.

Boston is cooler, with an average of 26C. Climatically, at least it’s not Mexico, where the mercury hits the mid 30s regularly.

The Tartan Army are expected to travel in their numbers to swell a pretty strong corps of expats in the USA. This is a chance of a lifetime for many Scotland fans. What may prohibit them is the finances.

World Cup ticket prices soar

A rough costing of flights and accommodation for the three games comes in around the £6k mark. Add on food and plenty of drink and it swells further. But what may tip the total foot-soldier budget over £10k is the price of match tickets.

At France ‘98 - the last time Scotland reached a World Cup - the most expensive stub was £38. FIFA advertise their starting prices at $60 but the likelihood is that fans will have to pay way, way over the odds to watch their countries in person.

Briefs are routinely being sold at least ten times their face value. “I find it hard that tickets are going to be selling for £2,000, I can’t even afford it,” said rocker Rod Stewart, who has deeper pockets than the average Joe. Supporters’ associations are lamenting the state of the market and laying the blame squarely at FIFA’s door. They claim the ordinary fan simply can’t foot the bill.

One thing is for sure: Scotland are back at the World Cup and that’s great, but this is going to be the most expensive tournament ever for the Tartan Army to follow. And a pretty challenging one for the armchair viewer - perhaps we should rename it the bedtime viewer.

Hurdles that a nation is undoubtedly happy to have. Scotland’s name is up in lights once more. We’ll next see Clarke’s men in March for a couple of friendlies, where the boss will fine-tune his squad. In between, a whole host of players will attempt to catch his eye. Let the debate on who boards the plane begin.