MEXICO CITY (AP) \u2014 Heat won\u2019t be the only environmental factor affecting players\u2019 performance at the\u00a0World Cup.\u00a0Teams playing in two of Mexico\u2019s host cities must adapt to another challenge: altitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\u00a0Azteca stadium\u00a0in\u00a0Mexico City\u00a0sits at more than 7,300 feet (2,200 meters) above sea level, while\u00a0Guadalajara\u00a0is at 5,138 feet (1,566 meters).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Visiting teams that aren\u2019t used to those conditions may struggle with fatigue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have a massive advantage as the host country because we\u2019re playing at the Estadio Azteca with our fans and the altitude,\u201d Mexican football commissioner Mikel Arriola said. \u201cIt is a very potent setting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Mexico, leveraging that advantage is seen as key to the team\u2019s chances. It is no coincidence that\u00a0El Tri\u2019s\u00a0deepest World Cup runs occurred on home soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last time Mexico hosted the tournament, in 1986, it advanced to the quarterfinals, ultimately falling to West Germany in a penalty shootout. That match was played in\u00a0Monterrey, where altitude is not a factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mexico plays South Africa in the World Cup opener June 11 at the Azteca \u2014 which FIFA has renamed Mexico City Stadium during the tournament \u2014before facing South Korea just outside Guadalajara on June 18. It plays its last\u00a0Group A\u00a0game in Mexico City on June 24 against Czechia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Altitude won\u2019t be a factor in the games played in the United States and Canada. The highest-altitude U.S. host city is Atlanta, at just 1,050 feet (320 meters) above sea level, while Canada\u2019s highest venue is in Toronto, at just 249 feet (76 meters).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For elite athletes to perform at their peak at high altitude, a period of adaption is required to reduce fatigue caused by lower atmospheric pressure and reduced oxygen availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou would expect a faster onset of fatigue, higher heart rates at any given running intensity, and a reduced capacity to sustain the high-intensity efforts that define modern international football\u2014including sprints, pressing actions, and rapid changes of pace,\u201d said Sam Shepherd, head of sports science at sports nutrition company Precision Fuel & Hydration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To mitigate the physiological toll of thin air, sports scientists generally recommend two contrasting approaches: an extended acclimatization period of at least two weeks, or the \u201cfly-in, fly-out\u201d method\u2014arriving as close to kick-off as possible before acute symptoms set in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latter is favored by visiting American professional sports teams from the NBA, MLB and NFL, which routinely land in Mexico City the day before a game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a month-long tournament, however, long-term acclimatization is becoming the standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa selected Pachuca\u2014a city sitting even higher than the capital at more than 8,000 feet (nearly 2,500 meters) \u2014as their base camp, arriving last Tuesday despite\u00a0initial visa delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Korea, facing two group-stage matches in Guadalajara, has chosen a similar approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll play at about 1,600 meters (5,250 feet),\u201d said head coach Hong Myung-bo. \u201cWe\u2019ve had very little exposure to this environment, so I\u2019ve consulted with experts to determine our needs. We now have detailed plans not only for training but also for what happens off the pitch during our stay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To prepare, the Korean squad has been stationed at more than 4,300 feet (1,300 meters) in Salt Lake City, Utah, since May 18. According to Shepherd, that can make a significant difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSpending two to three weeks at altitude stimulates the body to produce more red blood cells and improves oxygen-carrying capacity, meaning players arrive with some degree of adaptation rather than experiencing the full, acute environmental stress on match day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colombia, which plays its first\u00a0Group K\u00a0game against Uzbekistan on June 17 in Mexico City, has been preparing for the World Cup in its high-altitude capital, Bogot\u00e1, at 8,600 feet (2,600) meters above sea level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their itinerary requires managing big changes in altitude and climate as they move from the Mexican capital to Guadalajara, and finally to the sea-level humidity of\u00a0Miami\u00a0to close out the group stage against Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is a definite physiological adaptation to altitude,\u201d Colombia coach N\u00e9stor Lorenzo said. \u201cWe have to play across three entirely different environments … but we have experience managing these variables and will use every tool at our disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\u00a0Czechs\u00a0were among the last teams to qualify for the World Cup through the European playoffs at the end of March. Their base camp near\u00a0Dallas\u00a0was chosen by FIFA and is about 590 feet (180 meters) above sea level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They will fly directly into the thin air of Mexico City for a high-stakes group finale against Mexico on June 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t be ideal,\u201d Czechia coach Miroslav Koubek said after announcing his squad last month. \u201cWe would have to spent a month in the environment to get adapted to it but there\u2019s no time for that. We have recommendations from experts on how to cope with that but we can\u2019t cope with that for 100%, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was a fiasco for Czechoslovakia, which two decades later split into Czechia and Slovakia. The team lost all of its group stage games \u2014 against Brazil, Romania and England \u2014 and lack of acclimatization to the altitude was seen as a contributing factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was thinking a lot about the weather and the altitude that are awaiting us,\u201d Czechia defender Tom\u00e1\u0161 Hole\u0161 said. \u201cI\u2019ve talked to people who visited such places, and played there. It will be something really specific, an interesting experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MEXICO CITY (AP) \u2014 Heat won\u2019t be the only environmental factor affecting players\u2019 performance at the\u00a0World Cup.\u00a0Teams playing in two of Mexico\u2019s host cities must adapt to another challenge: altitude. The\u00a0Azteca stadium\u00a0in\u00a0Mexico City\u00a0sits at more than 7,300 feet (2,200 meters) above sea level, while\u00a0Guadalajara\u00a0is at 5,138 feet (1,566 meters). Visiting teams that aren\u2019t used to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12903],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-410375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12903"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":410376,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410375\/revisions\/410376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}