High-Altitude Training: 24 Days vs. One Day—Will Adaptation Determine the Outcome?

[Anchor]

The decisive match against the Czech Republic will be held at a stadium over 1,500 meters above sea level. As a result, the outcome may hinge on "high-altitude adaptation."

How exactly does it differ from low-altitude conditions? Reporter Hong Seok-jun, who accompanied the national team during their high-altitude training, provides the details.

[Reporter]

Immediately after the group stage draw last year, the national team secured their base camp in Guadalajara, where the first and second matches will be held, and put more effort than any other team into selecting their pre-tournament training site.

I am currently in Salt Lake City, where I covered the team's training camp.

The altitude here is 1,460 meters, similar to that of Guadalajara.

To put it in perspective, it is roughly the same altitude as the Seolcheon-bong Peak of Deogyusan Mountain, which is familiar to us.

At this height, where your ears might pop while riding a gondola, the players must perform non-stop "sprints."

The most significant physical change is that they run out of breath faster and tire more easily.

[Oh Hyeon-gyu / National Football Team Forward: I think the recovery speed was a bit slower than before. There is also a slight feeling of shortness of breath.]

This is because for every 100 meters of elevation gain, the amount of oxygen available to us decreases by 1%.

This is immediately reflected in the body's oxygen saturation levels.

When measured in Texas, our transit point, the oxygen saturation was 97% with a heart rate of 90 beats per minute. However, after arriving in Salt Lake City, the oxygen saturation dropped to 93%, and the heart rate rose to 110 beats per minute.

In a previous case involving our national team at the 2010 South Africa tournament, matches played at high altitude saw a 5% decrease in total distance covered and an 11% drop in peak sprint speed.

The movement of the ball also changes significantly.

When a "long kick" is struck with the same force, the ball's speed decreases relatively quickly in low-altitude areas with higher air pressure due to air resistance, and it curves more due to the spin affected by pressure differences. However, at an altitude of 1,500 meters, air resistance is reduced by about 15%, causing the ball to travel about 3 meters further.

[Jo Hyeon-woo / National Football Team Goalkeeper: The ball just stays alive and keeps flying. Especially with aerial balls.]

Even Son Heung-min's signature curling shots could curve up to 30cm less.

Generally, the time required for high-altitude adaptation is about 2 to 4 weeks. In South American international tournaments, statistics show that when there is an altitude difference of 1,500 meters between the home and away teams, the home team has a 68% win rate. Given that we are entering our fourth week of adaptation, we clearly have an advantage over the Czech Republic, which strategically chose to arrive just one day before the match.

Reported by Hong Seok-jun | Video by Yoo Dong-hyuk | Video Editing by Hwang Ji-young | Produced by Kim Do-gyun and Han Seung-ho | XR by Lee Jun-ho and Choi Jae-young | Graphics by Park Tae-young
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.