John Swinney has argued the spending was proportionate to the work involved, with the trips designed to do more than simply watch football.
That is not an unusual pitch around major tournaments. Governments regularly try to use events like the World Cup as shop windows for tourism, culture and business, especially when a national team is attracting rare global attention.
The political pressure comes from the detail.
That creates an obvious line of attack. Critics are not really arguing that ministers should never travel to support Scotland; they are arguing that the premium attached to that support appears too high.
This is where politics gets unforgiving. Scotland’s return to the men’s World Cup was always going to carry emotion, symbolism and scrutiny. Supporters can accept that ministers want to be present for a landmark moment. What they may accept less easily is the sense that the rules on restraint become flexible when prestige is involved.
The next step is likely to be political rather than footballing: more questions over travel policy, approval processes and whether future tournament-linked visits are handled differently. As Scotland looks ahead to its next major chapter on the pitch, the story off it may now be about how public money follows the national team abroad.