Switzerland top Euro 2020 air miles with England yet to board a plane
Euro 2020 odyssey goes on for Switzerland as they surpass 7,000 air miles ahead of their last-16 clash and Wales are not far behind them… with England the ONLY team left who haven’t boarded a plane yet ahead of a fourth straight Wembley game
- Euro 2020 has reached the last-16 stage and the travelling continues for most
- Switzerland have racked up the most air miles during the tournament with 7,245
- Wales have been on a 5,382-mile adventure and now head to Amsterdam
- Holland, Italy, Germany and Denmark set to fly for first time ahead of last-16
- But lucky England will play a fourth consecutive match on home turf at Wembley
- Find out the latest Euro 2020 news including fixtures, live action and results here
Well-travelled Switzerland, Sweden and Wales are set to rack up yet more air miles as Euro 2020 reaches the last-16 stage – with England the only team who haven’t left home yet.
Robert Page’s Wales side have now surpassed 5,000 miles of air travel during the tournament as they arrived in Amsterdam for Saturday’s knockout tie against Denmark.
But their 5,382-mile odyssey – which has also taken them to Baku and Rome – isn’t even the highest in this colossal pan-European event.
Switzerland have been racking up the air miles at Euro 2020, travelling to Baku, Rome, Baku again and now Bucharest for their last-16 match against France
Wales have covered 5,382 miles so far as they fly off to Amsterdam to take on Denmark
Travel-weary Switzerland will have covered some 7,245 miles by the time they touch down in Bucharest for Monday’s last-16 meeting with France.
The Swiss, who were also in Group A with Wales, have toured from Zurich to Baku, then to Rome and then back to Baku for their three matches before the 1,240 hop to the Romanian capital.
Sweden have also faced some marathon travel, covering 5,362 miles as they get ready for Tuesday night’s meeting with Ukraine at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
They have been from Stockholm to Seville, then all the way across Europe to Saint Petersburg before jetting on to Scotland.
But England have got off lightly with the travel and are set to play a fourth game at Wembley
Euro 2020 air miles
Includes miles travelled for three group stage games and journey to last-16 venue for the teams still in the competition.
Switzerland – 7,245 miles
Wales – 5,382
Sweden – 5,362
Belgium – 4,824
Czech Republic – 4,646
Ukraine – 3,757
Portugal – 3,696
Austria – 3,495
Croatia – 1,828
Spain – 1,530
France – 1,173
Holland – 1,111
Italy – 898
Germany – 572
Denmark – 395
England – 0
But the figures, reported by The Sun, show that other nations in then last-16 have got off lightly.
Spain, for example, played all three of their group matches in Seville and now only have to travel 1,530 miles to Copenhagen to face Croatia on Sunday.
France have had relatively short flights between Paris and Munich, Munich and Budapest and then Budapest and Bucharest for just 1,173 miles.
Holland, Italy, Germany and Denmark have played all their games at home so far and are just about to board a plane for the first time at the tournament.
The Dutch are off to Budapest to play the Czech Republic, Italy head to London to face Austria, Germany make the same journey to take on England, while Denmark head to Amsterdam.
Sweden are another team to have travelled thousands of miles at the Euros so far
Denmark are among the team to have enjoyed home advantage for all their games so far
Yet England have lucked out with another home game on Tuesday against the Germans – their fourth consecutive fixture at Wembley.
That came after this last-16 tie was switched from Dublin to London after the Irish government was unable to make assurances of at least 25 per cent capacity inside the Aviva Stadium.
Instead, there will be a partisan crowd 45,000 cheering them on inside Wembley with German fans not expected to take up their allocation because of Covid-19 travel restrictions.
If England win on Tuesday night, they will have to make their one and only air journey of the tournament to Rome for the quarter-final. The semi-finals and the final are also at Wembley.
England will have the advantage of a partisan Wembley crowd against Germany on Tuesday
Wales boss Page has spoken out about the demands of so much travel during the first European Championship to be staged right across the continent.
He said: ‘It’s not been easy because we’ve had to go to Baku and then travel to Italy. Now we’re going to have to go to Amsterdam.
‘On paper it sounds like a great idea to have it all round Europe. But logistically, it is an absolute nightmare.’
Inconsistent Covid restrictions across the host countries have made watching the games a pain for fans as well.
Covid restrictions meant only a small number of Wales fans could travel to Rome last week
Wales fans were able to watch their team in Baku, Azerbaijan without needing to quarantine upon arrival but they are barred from heading to Amsterdam this weekend.
However, fans of Denmark are allowed to go to the game so long as they enter and depart Holland within a 12-hour window.
And while matches in Budapest have been played in front of full capacity crowds, the majority across the continent have seen heavily restricted numbers.
60,000 will be allowed to attend the Wembley semi-finals and final.
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