Altitude unlikely to affect Ecuador when it faces Mexico at the Azteca
AP News • • sports
Key Points:
- Mexico completed the group stage of the World Cup with a perfect record, winning all matches played at high altitude venues above 5,000 feet, leveraging the altitude and home crowd advantage.
- Ecuador, Mexico’s Round of 32 opponent, is well-adapted to playing at high elevations, regularly competing at over 9,000 feet in Quito and having a strong home record in such conditions.
- Unlike Mexico’s earlier opponents who struggled with altitude, Ecuador has experience playing both high and low elevation matches, boosting their confidence to face Mexico without special altitude preparation.
- Mexico remains undefeated at the Estadio Azteca in World Cup history, but Ecuador aims to become the first team to beat them there, relying on their altitude conditioning and tactical trust.
- The impact of altitude on player fatigue and performance has been significant in the tournament, influencing training strategies of many teams, though Ecuador chose to train at low elevation before the match.
