CAPE TOWN, May 1 (Reuters) - South Africa plan to arrive in Mexico almost a fortnight before the opening game of the World Cup in order to acclimatise to the altitude, coach Hugo Broos said.
Co-hosts Mexico open the tournament on June 11 with a Group A match against South Africa at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, which is 2,200m (7,216 feet) above sea level.
While most of the South African players are based at clubs in Johannesburg, which has an altitude of 1,753m, Broos says his squad need time to adjust to the conditions in Mexico before the opening game.
The squad will travel on May 30 to their base in Pachuca, which is around 200 metres higher than Mexico City. The city is less than 100 km from Mexico City.
“The first days it will be difficult to train at 100% because of the altitude, so that is what we will do in the second week,” Broos said in a radio interview.
South Africa plan to take on Nicaragua at home in a friendly on May 29, although this is not confirmed, and are negotiating to have Puerto Rico as a warm-up opponent for a second international scrimmage in Pachuca.
In their other World Cup group matches, South Africa will meet the Czech Republic in Atlanta on June 18 and South Korea in Monterrey on June 24, seeking to advance past the first round for the first time in their fourth World Cup appearance.
“It’s not an easy group for us. First of all, we will face the hosts in the opening game, at the Azteca Stadium, and it will be very difficult for us there,” Broos said earlier in the year.
But the veteran coach, who played for semi-finalists Belgium at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, has also previously predicted his side could cause some upsets at the tournament, which is also being played in Canada and the U.S.
South Africa and Mexico drew 1-1 at Soccer City in Johannesburg in the opening game of the 2010 World Cup, which South Africa hosted.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
