GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) 鈥� The Czech Republic started its campaign by traveling from its base camp in Dallas across the border to Guadalajara in Mexico. The team is now back in Texas preparing for its next game in Atlanta. It will then return to Mexico for its third group match.
Newcomer Curacao is expected to travel some 5,300 miles (8,600 kilometers) back-and-forth from its base in Florida to , Kansas City and Philadelphia. Bosnia-Herzegovina will rack up nearly 5,200 miles (8,400 kilometers) across Canada and the U.S. while going from its base in Utah to , Los Angeles and Seattle.
The ever has brought some logistics challenges to the 48 teams in the tournament being played across three countries and four time zones.
鈥淲e just have to live with it because that鈥檚 what others planned for us,鈥� Czech Republic coach Miroslav Koubek said through a translator after a in Guadalajara last Thursday. 鈥淲e’re happy to be here and we want to have the best possible results. Our logistics behind the scenes is good, but of course it鈥檚 not ideal that we have to travel that much.鈥�
Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella said 鈥渢his is the reality, we have to adapt.鈥�
His squad trains in Arizona, about 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) from Vancouver, where it opened with a
鈥淥f course after the match we鈥檒l be back at 5 o鈥檆lock in the morning, and it鈥檚 not easy to recover, especially for people my age,鈥� the 51-year-old Montella said through a translator ahead of the match. 鈥淎fter a night out you know it takes a few days to recover. America is big, Canada is very big. Mexico is big. We have to adapt. I know these things you can鈥檛 change. You can鈥檛 choose. You just have to adapt so you don鈥檛 have any excuses.鈥�
Host teams on the move
Canada’s squad had to fly nearly five hours to cover the more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) between Toronto and Vancouver after its opener. The U.S. team will travel nearly that distance in total while going back-and-forth between its training camp in Irvine, California, and its and Seattle. Mexico is expected to travel less than 600 miles (965 kilometers) within the country.
The England team is set to travel the most among the main title contenders, having its camp in Kansas City and playing games in Dallas, Boston and New York. Spain will have to fly nearly four hours from its base in Atlanta to a match in Guadalajara.
Argentina and France, the finalists at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, face fewer travel challenges. Argentina is based in Kansas City, where it will open its title defense before playing two matches in Dallas. France has its camp in Boston. It will play one game there and the other two in Philadelphia and New York.
FIFA has long recognized the logistic challenges for the World Cup scattered across North America. It tried to separate teams in geographical clusters where they are based and where they will play most of their matches.
Lengthy traveling was a non-issue at the previous World Cup in Qatar, which is roughly the size of Connecticut and is smaller than Switzerland. But teams faced similar travel challenges in 2018 in Russia and 2014 in Brazil.
High altitude also a factor
South Korea’s squad doesn鈥檛 have to leave Mexico for its group matches, but does have to both in Mexico City (about 2,200 meters, 7,200 feet) and Guadalajara (about 1,500 meters, 4,900 feet).
The South Koreans did specific training to adjust to the altitude, and coach Hong Myung-bo said it 鈥渉elped a lot鈥� but still wasn鈥檛 enough.
鈥淚n the second half, I think we could see that everyone was very tired,鈥� Hong said after his team鈥檚 come-from-behind win over the Czech Republic.
Heat and humidity could also become an issue for many teams training and playing in U.S. cities such as Houston, Dallas, New York and Miami.
Brazil forward Vin铆cius J煤nior complained of the conditions after the on Saturday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
鈥淏ecause of the weather, the heat, the field dries up too quickly and the game gets really stuck and we can鈥檛 have game rhythm. That makes it difficult for us because we want to play, we want to move the ball from side to side, and that gets in the way of our game,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e going to have to adapt because I believe it鈥檚 going to be like that for the whole competition where everyone is going to have the same field of play.鈥�
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AP Sports Writer Anne M. Peterson contributed from Vancouver.
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