But the Azteca sits at high altitude, 7,220 feet above sea level, and that will be a punishing physical experience for Thomas Tuchel’s side as they seek to reach the last eight by knocking out co-hosts Mexico, who have won all four of their games at the World Cup so far without conceding a single goal.
Here, Standard Sport looks into the challenge that high altitude will pose England…
Playing at the Azteca will pose England one of their toughest tests of the World Cup so far
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Why will high altitude make a difference?
The Estadio Azteca in Mexico City sits 2,200 metres above sea level. At that altitude, the Earth’s barometric pressure is lower, meaning the air is thinner. That means less oxygen is taken into the bloodstream with each breath.
The impact that could have on England’s players is significant. Players may find it harder to catch their breath, get more dehydrated, have increased heart rates and fatigue more easily. Top sprint speeds should not be affected, but it will take longer to recover between each sprint.
How difficult will it be for England?
Tuchel believes dealing with the altitude will be very difficult, calling it a “huge disadvantage”.
All four of Mexico’s previous matches at the tournament have been on home soil and they have been training here too. It means they have acclimatised already, whereas England have not.
“Not only have we got an environment that the Mexico players have certainly now acclimatised to because of how long they’ve been in it just in this tournament, but they also know strategies for in-game management at altitude, nuances they might need during hydration breaks or half time,” says Dominic Rae, a leading sports physiotherapist and head of sports medicine and performance at The Ten Percent Club.
Thomas Tuchel thinks England will be at a “huge disadvantage” in Mexico City
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“This level of altitude isn’t astronomical compared to some of the things we see in extreme sport, but Mexico’s record is too much to ignore,” Rae tells Standard Sport.
Mexico have lost just two of 89 matches at the Azteca in their history.
Rae adds: “I would expect, by the end of the match, players expected to play the full match will see a pretty drastic drop-off of performance.”
What can they do to limit the effects?
Not a huge amount. The effects tend to kick in after the first 24 hours so the ideal situation would have been for England to fly in and play the game on the same day, especially because poor sleep can also make the effects of high altitude worse.
But FIFA regulations stipulate that for the round of 16 onwards, teams must train in the city of their game the day before, meaning England had no choice but to fly to Mexico on Friday evening after training at their Kansas City base camp two days out from the game. This is partly what has made Tuchel and the England camp so frustrated.
In anticipation for this summer’s World Cup, Elliot Anderson installed a hyperbaric chamber in his house as part of his adaptation before the tournament.
FIFA requlations require England to train in Mexico City the day before facing El Tri
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“In theory, that could have had an effect, an increase in red blood cells,” Rae says.
“I’ve read they’ve also done some work in altitude tents but am sceptical about how much of that they’ve been able to do.
“The amount of time to do extra acclimatisation is pretty limited — and this isn’t a case of one hit and you’re adapted. At this level of altitude, you’re talking one to four weeks to truly adapt.”
England went out to Barcelona for a warm-weather training camp last summer and trained in heat and humidity in Miami for 11 days before the World Cup. But while heat training is different from high-altitude training, it can help in certain ways.
“At this level of altitude, you’re talking one to four weeks to truly adapt.”
Dominic Rae, Head of sports medicine and performance at The Ten Percent Club
“When you’re at altitude, the air is thinner. What training in heat does is give you an ability to regulate your sweat,” says Rae. “If you can down-regulate your sweat rate a little bit, which heat exposure will do, that type of adaptation will cross over into the type of thing you want to try and avoid with altitude as well.”
Will England have to adapt how they play?
Almost certainly. England will be conscious not to burn out too soon and will be desperate to draw first blood at the Azteca.
As Rae says: “Score first and then they can be a little bit deeper. You can preserve energy.
“Tactics underpin everything. If you played this game elsewhere and then played it in Mexico City, this game would be harder. That’s how Mexico are clever; they really do try to come out the blocks and hurt people early. That’s why England will have to have plans A, B, C.
“They need to have a good warm-up [in the stadium] before the game, because you can start to acclimatise then.
“This is what will make it hard for substitutes, because after sitting on the bench it will feel different.”
