24 Days vs. 1 Day of High-Altitude Training: 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. Therefore, this match may be decided by "high-altitude adaptability."

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

[Reporter]

After the group draw last year, the national team secured a 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.

This is Salt Lake City, where I covered the training camp.

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

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 pop when riding a gondola, the players must engage in constant "sprinting."

The biggest physical change is that you run out of breath faster and get tired more easily.

[Oh Hyeon-gyu / National Football Team Forward: I think the recovery speed was a bit slower than before. I also feel slightly more breathless.]

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, a stopover, 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 increased to 110 beats per minute.

In our national team's case, during the 2010 South Africa tournament, there was an instance where activity levels decreased by 5% and top sprint speeds dropped by about 11% in matches played at high altitudes.

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 the pressure difference. 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 flies differently. Especially aerial balls.]

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

Usually, the time required to adapt to high altitude is about 2 to 4 weeks. In South American international tournaments, statistics show that when the altitude difference between the home and away teams is 1,500 meters, the home team's win rate reaches 68%. As we have entered our fourth week of adaptation, we are clearly at an advantage over the Czech Republic, which strategically chose to arrive just one day before the match.

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