Prince William is only expected to travel to the US to watch England in the World Cup if they make the final, it is understood.
The Prince of Wales, who is known to be a huge football fan, went to several Three Lions games in Germany during the Euros in 2024 - England’s last major tournament. He even took Prince George to Berlin for the Euros final, where England lost 2-1 to Spain.
But it is believed that William will not jet across the Atlantic for any of England’s group games - and will only head to the tournament if they make it all the way to the showpiece match on July 18 at the New York New Jersey Stadium - their first World Cup final since 1966.
Contrary to Reports
Contrary to reports, it is only if England make the final that the prince would travel out to the tournament - and not Scotland, given his role as patron of the English Football Association. Kensington Palace has yet to confirm William’s plans for the World Cup.
When England kicked off their World Cup campaign with a 4-2 win over Croatia on Wednesday night, William issued a message before the game saying: “Good luck to England ahead of their first World Cup group match tonight! Here's to a great tournament ahead.”
Previous World Cup Absences
It’s not the first time that William has not attended World Cups with England - having not attended Qatar in 2022 nor Russia in 2018, with both tournaments seen as being held in controversial countries.
His non-attendance was put down to his busy winter schedule at the end of that year. England only made the quarter-finals but it was understood his office might have looked at making arrangements if the team had reached the final.
He also didn’t make it to Brazil in 2014 - although Prince Harry did attend England’s group game against Costa Rica, which ended in a 0-0 draw.
Support for Lionesses
In 2023, William came under fire when England’s Lionesses made it to the World Cup final in Australia - but he did not attend. It was said the prince made the decision not to travel to Sydney because a trip to Australia would involve flying across the world for a very short period of time, and that there were other ways he could show support for the team.
However, last year he did travel to Switzerland with Princess Charlotte to watch the Lionesses win their second successive Euros title - after beating Spain in a penalty shoot-out in the final.
