Some people will shiver at the idea but Mallorca could be a huge World Cup winner with England and Scotland fans and who knows, even the Welsh and N. Irish should they eventually qualify. England qualified as the top team in Group K of the UEFA qualifiers. They are in Group L for the finals and will face Croatia, Ghana, and Panama. Scotland qualified as the winner of Group C. They are in Group C for the finals and will play Brazil, Morocco, and Haiti.
Wales finished second in Group J and secured a place in the play-offs. They will play Bosnia & Herzegovina in a semi-final in March 2026. And Northern Ireland secured a play-off spot through their UEFA Nations League performance. They could potentially face Wales in a play-off final if both teams win their semi-finals.
The final four European spots will be decided through the play-off matches scheduled for March 2026.
However, with ticket and travel prices to head to the United States, Canada and Mexico to watch the games, a number of Spanish resorts, in cooperation with leading tour operators such as TUI, are already offering special World Cup packages.
The Sun has reported that bookings for flights to holiday hot spot Benidorm, for example, have rocketed four-fold amid anger at tournament prices. Now I know Mallorca only wants “quality big spending tourists”, but football fans do spend a lot of money. Flight comparison website Kiwi.com said: “We have seen an unseasonal spike in bookings for next summer.
“The growth to Alicante for Benidorm is particularly steep at over 300 per cent.” Travel agent TUI is advertising a five-night jaunt to Benidorm, leaving from Bristol airport on June 14, for £449 — £74 less than a Category 1 ticket to England’s Croatia opener on June 17 in Dallas. Trouble is the World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026, just at the start of the peak season but it is food for thought.