England can’t breathe: What the high location of the Aztec Stadium means for the World Cup round of 16

The “Three Lions” first prepared for the World Cup in West Palm Beach, Florida – four meters above sea level. During the tournament they set up camp near Kansas City in the US state of Missouri, almost 280 meters high. From there we travel around 2,250 kilometers by plane to Mexico City – over 2,200 meters above sea level. The biggest problem is the short time until the round of 16 on the German night on Monday (2 a.m. CEST/Magenta TV).

What is meant by thin air?

“To put it simply: Thin air means lower air pressure than at sea level,” explains internist and pulmonologist Dr. Matthias Krüll, also chief physician of the Berlin Marathon. With the same oxygen content of around 21 percent, the so-called oxygen partial pressure – the proportion of the total pressure of the breathing air that is accounted for by oxygen – decreases in the air. Compared to sea level, at an altitude of 2,200 meters it is 25 percent less. “As a result, significantly less oxygen is spontaneously absorbed into the blood in thin air,” says Krüll to the German Press Agency.

What exactly happens in the body?

“The body is only as efficient as it is able to absorb oxygen,” explains Krüll. The oxygen uptake is in turn determined by various factors: lung volume, gas transfer from the breathing air into the blood, how many oxygen carriers – red blood cells – are in the blood, and how well the heart works. The body adapts to the lack of oxygen primarily by producing more red blood cells that can transport oxygen.

What can the British do as a precaution?

You have to live at high altitude for about three months to produce enough red blood cells to do all the things you do at sea level, according to Mexico City’s “Altitude Sickness” website.

Competitive and endurance athletes complete special altitude training camps so that the body adapts to lower oxygen levels. “That means, for example, that it produces more oxygen carriers. But that takes about two to six weeks,” explains Krüll.

England stay for a day or two. The “Three Lions” should perhaps slow down the pace of play a little “to give the players time to recover between phases of high-intensity play,” advises English sports doctor Barney Wainwright from Leeds Beckett University.

“They will probably be behind in terms of their running performance and will ‘run out of breath’ earlier than usual at lower altitudes,” predicts Krüll: “So Harry Kane shouldn’t wait until the 70th minute as he did before, but simply score his two goals in the first half, that would be good for the English.”

What does England’s German coach say?

“There are three days between the games against Congo and Mexico and we can’t prepare for that. We knew that beforehand. It’s just a disadvantage that we have to deal with,” said Thomas Tuchel after reaching the round of 16 with a 2-1 win against the Democratic Republic of Congo thanks to a brace from Kane.

Doctor Krüll assumes that these circumstances will have consequences for the English game. The body does not have oxygen available in the usual way. “This means that the muscles do not work oxygen-neutrally, but rather quickly and quickly incur an oxygen debt. Here, the sugar as an energy source is not completely broken down during energy production, but rather, degradation products are produced more quickly and in greater quantities, in this case primarily lactic acid.”

England played their last international match on June 22, 1986 at the Aztec Stadium. It was the 1-2 defeat against Argentina with Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal and his century goal.

One Englishman whose experience at the Aztec Stadium is a little more recent is Nigel Reo-Coker. “This is the most physically challenging place I have ever played football,” the former professional told the BBC. In 2015 he had to play in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions League final with Montreal Impact in the Aztec Stadium (1-1). “You can’t breathe. You have to think very carefully about the moments in which you give yourself everything.”