MEXICO CITY — Pete Hall, a Guardian correspondent, is not an elite runner. He has done half marathons, a 10k recently. But after three weeks in America eating portion sizes, he decided to attempt a lap of the iconic Azteca Stadium at 7,000ft above sea level. It did not go well. “Taking in air becomes more difficult and before long your inhalation becomes more of a gasp,” he wrote. Then came acid reflux, “something I have never experienced before.” By 2km, throbbing headaches set in. He called the experience “a form of torture.”
England’s footballers will face the same conditions when they take on Mexico in Sunday’s last-16 World Cup clash. They have spent time in acclimatisation tents and consulted the British Olympic Association and Team GB, but those measures are only effective when used for weeks beforehand. England could not risk anything going wrong during the group stage in the United States, so they have not been able to keep up the training. Hall noted that exercising at altitude “is literally not for the faint-hearted.”
“England face altitude and storm threats in Mexico City last-16 clash; journalist's run at 7,000ft left him gasping.”
Now a second threat looms: severe weather. Fears over inclement conditions in Mexico City led to talks between FIFA and organisers about moving the kick-off time, though the Evening Standard reported the kick-off time will remain unchanged. Hall’s warning echoes: “Elite athletic specimens will, of course, be able to cope better than I can,” he wrote, “but only if England’s under-pressure charges pace themselves across what will almost certainly be the most intense physical challenge of their lives.”
Mexico have lost two competitive matches at the Azteca in World Cup history. England arrive with no recent altitude exposure and a storm forecast. Harry Kane and his comrades will have to hope their experience is less chastening than Hall’s — or risk a mauling in Mexico City.