World Cup games played in Mexico will have a slower pace compared to those in the United States and Canada, experts warn.
World Cup matches in Mexico are expected to be a bit slower than those in the United States and Canada. Mexico, one of the co-hosts, will kick off the first-ever 48-team tournament on Thursday, June 11, when ‘El Tri’ faces South Africa, just like they did in the 2010 opener.
Out of the 104 games in the World Cup, 13 will be played in Mexico across Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. But games in Mexico might feel different from those in the neighboring North American countries.
A TikTok video by user @tiannahpedler points out that the altitude could slow down play. Mexico City sits 2,240 meters above sea level, and Guadalajara has a similar height—comparable to some ski resorts in Europe.
At higher altitudes, players have to work harder and recover takes longer, making the games more physically demanding. Teams that play with high energy and pressure will especially need to be careful.
Francois Billaut, a professor in Canada with 20 years of research on this topic, explains that lower air pressure at high altitude means players get less oxygen, which affects endurance.
For example, in 2023, Lionel Messi and the Argentina team used oxygen tubes to prepare for a tough game at 3,637 meters high in La Paz, Bolivia. That stadium’s extreme altitude even caused controversy, with players like Neymar calling it “inhumane,” and FIFA once banned it from hosting World Cup qualifiers.
Players in Mexico will know about these challenges and will train to get used to the conditions. Besides the physical effects, the thin air at high altitude can also change how the ball moves—making it travel faster and further. This can affect long passes, shots, and set-pieces, so goalkeepers will need to adapt.
While Mexico has the highest elevation, the playing conditions in all three host countries will be a topic of conversation during the World Cup.
Another big concern is the heat. The United Nations Climate Change group shared info on how extreme heat could affect the games. Cooling and hydration breaks will be common because many matches are expected to face risky heat levels, according to experts from World Weather Attribution and the global players’ union, FIFPRO.
Even cooler cities like Toronto and Vancouver might see heatwaves during the tournament. Almost half of the World Cup games could have heat that slows players down or causes problems.
A study of 57 Club World Cup matches showed players faced high heat-illness risk in over half the games. Substitute players often stayed inside the cooler dressing rooms to avoid the heat.
Because of this, using substitutes and rotating squads will probably be very important in this World Cup. Some games might be a bit slower, as players save energy to cope with the heat and altitude.