"Adjusted to High Altitude, Only to Face This..." Unexpected Variable in 3rd Match Against South Africa

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The third match against South Africa, which will determine our fate in the Round of 32 of the World Cup, is set to take place in Monterrey, Mexico, this coming Thursday, Korea Standard Time. The national team, which had been focusing on adapting to high altitude, is now facing "sweltering heat."

Reporter Pyeon Gwang-hyun, who arrived one day ahead of the national team, reports from the scene.

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Monterrey, the third-largest city in Mexico, is located at an altitude of 500 meters—lower than Pyeongchang in Korea—unlike the high-altitude areas above 1,500 meters that the national team has been adapting to until now.

And the summer heat is similar to that of Korea.

Late in the afternoon at Monterrey Stadium, ahead of the match between Japan and Tunisia.

Volunteers seeking shelter in the shade are fanning themselves repeatedly due to the sweltering heat.

Unlike Guadalajara, where it was cool in the evenings, the temperature here in Monterrey does not drop below 30°C (86°F) until 6 p.m.

Monterrey, where the stadium lacks air conditioning, is considered effectively the hottest among the host cities for this tournament, and the forecast predicts that the perceived temperature will reach as high as 38°C (100°F) on the day of our match.

[Thalia & Fernanda / Mexican Football Fans: I think the Korean players' performance might drop a bit because of the heat. (It's too hot, right?) It's really hot.]

[Regina / Mexican Football Fan: They will definitely need to make many substitutions because of the humidity and the heat.]

Because of this, our national team will enter Monterrey early tomorrow, June 22, one day earlier than FIFA's recommendation, for "heat acclimation" to adjust their bodies to the sweltering weather.

On the other hand, our opponent, South Africa, may face difficulties adapting to Monterrey.

Since they are training at their base camp in Pachuca, where the daytime temperature is only 22°C (72°F), and will only arrive in Monterrey one day before the match, they have less time to adapt to the heat than our team.

Our national team, which spent today recharging without training and pledging victory, will hold their final training session at the Guadalajara camp tomorrow morning before moving to Monterrey.

[Cho Gue-sung / National Football Team Forward: All the players are preparing well, and we will definitely repay the fans with a good performance and a victory in the final match against South Africa.]

(Video reporting: Hwang In-seok | Video editing: Kim Jong-mi | Design: Jang Chae-woo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.