GUADALJARA, Mexico (AP) — The Czech Republic world cup The campaign traveled from base camp in Dallas across the border to Guadalajara, Mexico. The team is now back in Texas and preparing for its next game in Atlanta. The team will then return to Mexico for the third group stage match.
The new entrant, Curaçao, is expected to make a round trip of about 5,300 miles (8,600 kilometers) from its base in Florida to the United States. houston gameKansas City and Philadelphia. Bosnia and Herzegovina will accumulate approximately 5,200 miles (8,400 kilometers) from its home in Utah across Canada and the United States. toronto gamesLos Angeles and Seattle.
of biggest world cup Previous editions have presented some logistical challenges for the 48 teams in the tournament, which is held in three countries and four time zones.
Czech Republic coach Miroslav Koubec said after the game through an interpreter: “We just have to accept it because it’s what others have planned for us.” Lost to South Korea 2-1 Last Thursday in Guadalajara. “We’re happy to be here and want to get the best possible result. The logistics behind the scenes are good, but of course it’s not ideal to have to travel so much.”
“This is the reality. We have to adapt,” Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella said.
His unit trained in Arizona, about 1,200 miles (1,930 km) from Vancouver, and went into war there. Lost to Australia 0-2.
“Of course I’ll be back at 5am after the match, but it’s not easy to recover, especially for someone my age,” the 51-year-old Montella said through an interpreter ahead of the match. “You know after a night out it takes a few days to get back on your feet. America is big, Canada is very big, Mexico is big. We have to adapt. We know we can’t change these things. We don’t have a choice. We just adapt so there are no excuses.”
Host team on the move
After the opening game, the Canadian team had to fly for nearly five hours to travel more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) between Toronto and Vancouver. The U.S. team will travel roughly the same distance in total, traveling between its training camp in Irvine, Calif., and its home base. Games in the Los Angeles area And Seattle. The distance traveled within Mexico is expected to be less than 600 miles (965 kilometers).
England will be the most traveled of the main favorites, with a camp in Kansas City and games in Dallas, Boston and New York. The Spanish national team will have to fly nearly four hours from their home base in Atlanta to the match in Guadalajara.
Argentina and France, the finalists for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, face fewer travel challenges. Argentina is based in Kansas City and will begin its title defense before playing two games in Dallas. France has a camp in Boston. One game will be played there, and the remaining two games will be played in Philadelphia and New York.
FIFA has long recognized the logistical challenges associated with hosting the World Cup across North America. We divided the teams into geographic clusters, trying to separate where they were based and where they played most of their games.
Last time the World Cup was held in Qatar, long travel was not an issue. Qatar is about the same size as the state of Connecticut and smaller than Switzerland. However, the team faced similar travel challenges in Russia in 2018 and Brazil in 2014.
High altitude is also a factor
The Korean national team does not have to leave Mexico for the group games, but it will have to do so. deal with high altitude It is located in both Mexico City (approximately 2,200 meters, 7,200 feet) and Guadalajara (approximately 1,500 meters, 4,900 feet).
The Korean athletes underwent special training to adapt to the high altitude, and coach Hong Myung-bo said it “helped a lot” but it was still not enough.
Coach Hong said after his team’s come-from-behind victory over the Czech Republic, “I think you could see that everyone was very tired in the second half.”
Heat and humidity can also be an issue for many teams that train and play in U.S. cities such as Houston, Dallas, New York and Miami.
Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior complained about the conditions after the match. 1-1 draw with Morocco Saturday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“Because of the weather and the heat, the field dries out quickly and the game becomes very stalemate and we don’t get the rhythm of the game. That makes it difficult for us because we want to play and we want to move the ball from side to side and that gets in the way of the game,” he said. “But we will have to adapt, because I believe we will have a situation like this throughout the competition, where everyone will be playing on the same field.”
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AP Sports Writer Ann M. Peterson contributed from Vancouver.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
