U.S. vs. Mexico tonight at tough Azteca Stadium

By RONALD BLUM

Landon Donovan knows just how much visitors struggle in the altitude and pollution of Azteca Stadium. Like a lot of U.S. players, he’s familiar with the shortness of breath and the sting of losing there.

“If you walk around in Mexico City for a few minutes, you’ll be tired,” the American forward said. “There’s very real issues there.”

Winless in Mexico since it first started playing there in 1937, the U.S. soccer team returns to 105,000-seat Azteca tonight when qualifying for next year’s World Cup resumes.

With some players coming off European club openers last weekend and others looking ahead to the first weekend of England’s Premier League, U.S. players weren’t given much time to acclimatize to the 7,200-foot altitude. Players from Major League Soccer and Europe gathered in Miami, then traveled to Mexico on Tuesday.

“We have worked for a long time with different people, different experts, on altitude training, including many from the U.S. Olympic Committee,” U.S. coach Bob Bradley said Monday. “The research we have stuck with is one that says if you don’t have enough time to acclimatize, which can take 10 days or so, then going in late is your best bet.”

The U.S. is 0-22-1 in Mexico, including 0-18-1 in Mexico City. The Americans gained a 0-0 tie at Azteca in a 1997 qualifier, playing the final 58 minutes short-handed after defender Jeff Agoos was ejected for elbowing Pavel Pardo in the neck — after Pardo had hit Agoos in the back.

In two qualifiers at Azteca under coach Bruce Arena, the Americans lost 1-0 in 2001 and 2-1 four years later.

“The sightlines are real difficult for players,” Arena said. “The field looks like you’re out in the country, and then you start dealing with the heat and the altitude, and it gets to your head. And it’s not only your head — the physiology, it’s difficult. It’s very difficult. And I remember games where, you know, we’ve had oxygen at halftime.”

Seeking its sixth straight World Cup appearance, the U.S. is in good shape halfway through the final round of North and Central American and Caribbean qualifying and likely would advance by winning its two remaining home games: against El Salvador on Sept. 5 at Sandy, Utah, and vs. Costa Rica on Oct. 14 at Washington, D.C.