AS the ref blew the final whistle last night to seal Scotland’s place at next summer’s World Cup, countless fans flocked online to book flights and accommodation.
Throughout the day, there has been a mass scramble to sort out itineraries early ahead of the football showpiece.
Legions of Tartan Army foot soldiers are expected to make the journey to North America, despite lofty travel costs to make the trip across the Atlantic.
It’s still unknown who Steve Clarke’s men will be playing in the group stage and, more importantly, for those travelling, whereabouts.
Travel guru Simon Calder has lent some of his expert knowledge to supporters looking to visit the USA, Canada or Mexico for the sporting extravaganza.
The veteran journalist has advised fans to go ahead and book trans-Atlantic flights.
But Simon has recommended that supporters hold off on booking accommodation until the weeks running up to the start of the tournament, when he predicts hotels unable to shift expensive rooms will knock down prices.
He also believes that Andy Robertson and his teammates are more likely to play their group games at stadiums in the eastern section of the continent, which includes Atlanta, Boston, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia and Toronto.
Speaking on BBC Reporting Scotland, the journalist said: “The trouble is, as past experience has shown, as soon as all the teams know where they are going to be playing, everybody gets online, everybody bids up the cost of everything, from flights to accommodation.
“My view is and I’ve analysed those different regions – western, central and eastern – and I’ve come to several conclusions. The first one is that, actually, it’s very unlikely Scotland will be playing in the west, on the Pacific or in Vancouver. There’s a 27 per cent chance of that.
“There’s one chance in three they will be in the central area, which is basically Texas and Mexico, and that leaves 40 per cent of a chance that they are going to be on the east coast.
“My view is buy a ticket now to somewhere like Philadelphia or Atlanta – non-stop flight to both of those from Edinburgh Airport of course – and then wait and see. And if you have to buy extra domestic flights, they are going to be easily available within the US.
“Lots of people are going to find that as soon as we discover where Scotland is playing, the prices will go through the roof. And my view is, absolutely, sit on your hands.
“Don’t decide, ‘OK, £500 a night, I suppose I’m going to have to pay that because the price won’t come down’.
“Well, guess what, it might. All the evidence we’ve seen from big sporting events is that as soon as the hotels think ‘OK, well we can get rich quick on this, they put up their prices.
“Some people will pay them. But actually, six weeks before the tournament, they’ll be looking and thinking, ‘Oh, we’re not full yet’ and then prices start coming down.”
Simon added: “And the thing about America is, everybody knows even if you are, for example, in Miami for a Scotland match – wouldn’t that be lovely – there’s gonna be places 30 miles away, small towns, small cities, with a whole string of motels.
“There is a huge supply of hotel beds, not to mention solutions like Airbnb in the US, so accommodation, I’m putting towards the back of my list of things to be concerned about.”
Scotland fans will find out who we will face in North America when the World Cup draw is held in Washington DC on December 5.
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