Algeria fans watching from home face one of the toughest World Cup schedules
· Yahoo Sports
Algeria’s World Cup schedule will test supporters at home as much as those planning to travel across North America, as well as the players themselves.
After watching them lose 3-0 to Argentina, the African nation will now face Austria and Jordan, with a tough schedule to come.
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Unfortunately for Algeria, the entire country have landed the hardest off-pitch draw of the tournament.
Algeria fans face the toughest off-pitch World Cup draw
Algeria fans have the toughest group-stage draw away from the pitch, with a fan fatigue score of 77.0 out of 100. That ranking is based on travel routes, early-morning kick-offs, lost sleep, hot host cities, altitude and short recovery windows.
For supporters making the trip, the route is demanding. Algeria’s group-stage path is listed as Kansas City, San Francisco Bay Area and Kansas City, with an estimated 2,981 stadium-to-stadium miles.
Yet the home schedule is the sharper issue for many fans. Supporters watching live from Algeria face kick-offs at about 2am, 4am and 3am.
Compare that to England fans, for example, who have games at 9pm and 11pm local time, it is fair to say that they have drawn the short straw.
Photo by Steph Chambers – FIFA/FIFA via Getty ImagesOther nations facing difficult schedules at the World Cup
Algeria will still be judged on results, performances and the quality of their group-stage opponents. But the supporter experience has already been shaped by a schedule that asks more of them than most.
The figures also show that Algeria aren’t the only ones with tough schedules. Bosnia and Herzegovina fans have the longest in-person route at about 3,143 stadium-to-stadium miles, while Croatia, Scotland, Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, Qatar and Paraguay all hit the maximum sleep-disruption score.
Given that there are 16 host cities across the USA, Canada and Mexico for the World Cup, it was never going to be able to cater for everyone. That scale is part of the event’s appeal, but it also makes travel, timing and recovery central to how the tournament will be experienced.