The first round of the World Cup knockout stage begins Wednesday for the United States National Team when it takes on Bosnia and Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco. The U.S. has only won once in the knockout stage when it defeated Mexico in 2002, and if you want to get last-minute tickets, the price is, get this, ... dropping.
The U.S. is heavily favored to defeat Bosnia for its second ever victory in the tournament rounds. And as with all sporting events in the U.S., tickets to see the match are available to purchase on the resale markets.
Soaring ticket costs
Before the knockout stage began, tickets were listed for more than $2,300, according to USA Today, but as the match looms near, the lowest get-in price nears $1,500 on Wednesday morning.
Still a hefty sum, yes, but an opportunity many Americans may not see again.
Should the U.S. knock Bosnia out of the tournament to face the winner of Belgium and Senegal, fans will likely see prices climb.
Currently, FIFA’s official resale site, the lowest tickets are $2,000 for Category 3 tickets to the Round of 16 match in Seattle. Category 4 starts at more than $3,500.
What fans are doing to get into the World Cup
Soccer fans across the world, passionate enough to make the trip, faced steep ticket prices to secure a seat to see their country participate in the World Cup. For fans like Andy Milne, an England super fan who listed his secondary home on the market to attend, it’s all worth it.
Known as That World Cup Guy, Milne says this is his 10th World cups since 1982 in Spain, including the last six.
Currently living in Thailand, he says the trip has been “expensive, but it’s been a great time.”
Always being sure to attend the final, putting a home for sale perhaps is not the craziest thing he has done to attend the world tournament. After being denied tickets to the 1998 final, Milne had to get creative.
“Probably the craziest thing that I did was I impersonated a Romanian reporter to get into the 1998 final.”
Perhaps this year will be England’s year and Milne will get to see his country finish the deal.
Ticket prices were a huge talking point leading up to the event. Many going on resale for thousands of dollars. But fans who stomached the stadium prices also had to put down some serious money for travel.
Some fans have decided to skip the hotel room and camp out together, Al Jazeera reports.
To travel so far away and pay for tickets, cost-cutting moves had to be made.
“For us, traveling so far away, is too expensive,” Argentine supporter Mariano Barone said. “It’s too hard to pay that price.”
Some hotels have reached $600 a night.
But growing up watching Lionel Messi, the sacrifice is worthwhile to watch the magical superstar, he said. This could be the last time Messi plays at the World Cup, the website reported.
Resorting to a camper van has become a solution for many, parking it in designated areas, within walking distance from some stadiums.
Some fans at the campground lamented the tournament was at least 50% cheaper in previous years. But as the tournament progresses, and if their respective teams advance, they may have to find more creative ways to cut costs and stick around.
How to get a ticket
As fans make the effort to obtain tickets, making a FIFA account allows them to see what is still available from the organization itself, but many tickets need to be purchased from resale markets.
High-demand matches, like the final were already distributed through a lottery system for lucky fans hoping to get in. Generally, many tickets go on secondary resale sites like SeatGeek, where the cheapest final ticket is almost $10,000.
If fans purchased tickets through their team’s program then they will likely end up with tickets should their team advance.