"The Korean team has gone to Salt Lake City to prepare for the World Cup because its matches will be played in Guadalajara, a high-altitude city," said soccer commentator Lee Hwang-jae during a YouTube panel discussion.
"There are not many teams preparing with altitude in mind, apart from South Korea and a few others."
Lee further explained that finding top-tier opponents willing to play under high-altitude conditions shortly before the tournament presented significant scheduling challenges.
"For us, adapting to altitude is necessary," Lee said.
"We need to keep playing matches under those conditions, but I think it was difficult to find a suitable opponent."
He added that other teams had little incentive to risk draining their players at high altitudes when most of their matches would occur at lower elevations.
"There is little reason for other teams to play at 1,600 meters (or similar) above sea level and risk draining their players when most of their matches will be held in lower-altitude cities such as those in California," Lee said.
Former national team player Lee Chun-soo suggested that matches against lower-ranked teams could provide unique opportunities to refine offensive strategies and build confidence.
"You can either play stronger teams, gain experience and try to perform better at the World Cup, or play a relatively weaker team, work on scoring patterns and incorporate what players have been doing in training into the match," Lee said.
K League commentator Kang Seong-joo noted that South Korea's early World Cup schedule may have limited the pool of available opponents.
