MU star breathes oxygen while playing on the 'world's worst nightmare' football field

TPO - Visiting Bolivia's stadiums is always a nightmare experience for the teams. Most recently, the Uruguayan team enjoyed this.

Urgate and his teammates breathed oxygen immediately after the match.

After Uruguay's 0-0 draw at the Estadio Municipal de El Alto in the South American qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, Manuel Urgate and his teammates had to use oxygen tanks. Before that, after only 20 minutes of play, Urgate was out of breath due to fatigue.

El Alto has an average altitude of 4,000m above sea level, making it the highest city in the world . The Estadio Municipal de El Alto is located at an altitude of 4,100m above sea level. The oxygen level here is very low, which can easily exhaust players during matches.

According to MEN , players need at least 48 hours to get used to playing in Bolivia. Many Uruguayan players have never played in a harsh stadium like Estadio Municipal de El Alto. Meanwhile, Bolivian players are very familiar with these conditions and see this as their advantage.

Bolivia is currently ranked 79th in the FIFA rankings. Compared to Uruguay, Bolivia is at a much lower level. However, when playing at home, Bolivia completely dominated Uruguay, holding the ball 66% of the time and making 32 shots (3 times more than Uruguay).

The Uruguayan players all played below par due to fatigue. As the match drew to a close, Urgate and his teammates almost gave up, waiting for the starting whistle.

Bolivia turned the pressure at the Estadio Municipal de El Alto into a huge advantage.

Five years ago, Lionel Messi threw up when Argentina played Bolivia at Hernando Siles Stadium, 3,640m above sea level.

In 2009, Messi was also present in the match where Argentina lost 1-6 to Bolivia at Hernando Siles Stadium. At that time, Messi shared about the first shock he experienced in his career: "I couldn't play football here. I felt exhausted, couldn't run, and the opponent played as if nothing had happened."

Dr. Luis Pintos, former Head of the Medical Department of the Argentine Football Federation, said that the air pressure in Bolivia is very high compared to normal places. With the pressure difference, players are affected in their breathing ability and body pressure. If they are not used to the harsh conditions in Bolivia, players can fall into a state of oxygen deficiency when exercising at high intensity, more seriously, headaches, dizziness and fainting.

Huong Ly

Source: https://tienphong.vn/sao-mu-tho-binh-oxy-khi-da-tren-san-bong-ac-mong-nhat-the-gioi-post1728613.tpo