England need a head for heights

Capello, whose meticulous attention to detail is legendary in the sport, will not be rushed into a decision. Last summer he sent his assistant Franco Baldini to South Africa to evaluate the British Lions' preparations at altitude.

Both during the tour and then later back home, medical representatives from England and the Lions met for detailed debriefing sessions on the effects of training and playing at altitude.

Gary O'Driscoll, the Arsenal team doctor who toured South Africa with the Lions in the same capacity, said: "Players need 10-14 days to adjust to playing at altitude, but some need far more time than others. We spent the first couple of weeks at altitude before coming down to sea level and within two to three weeks all the benefits had worn off."

Luckily for Capello, the vagaries of the draw mean that two to three weeks of benefit is all England will need to progress to the knockout stages. After playing the USA at altitude, their remaining two Group C games, against Algeria in Cape Town six days later and Slovenia on June 23 in Port Elizabeth, are at sea level.

If England's progress mirrors the bookmakers' predictions and they top Group C, their second-round match is guaranteed to take place back in Rustenburg, where they will again feel the benefits of their acclimitisation.

As further proof of Capello's search for perfection, before the tournament kicks off the England squad will spend an intensive week of altitude training in Irdning in Austria, a base the England manager has previously used while at Real Madrid. O'Driscoll believes England will need all the preparation they can get. "The average rugby player will cover nine or 10km a match, but a striker or defender in football will go up to 11km, althought the movement is more continuous and less explosive," he said.

"However, an England midfielder will cover as much as 15km and so it is important for the England coaching staff to identify immediately those in their squad who are going to take the longest to adjust."

O'Driscoll believes moving from altitude to sea level is easier than doing it the other way about. That is the challenge that awaits pre-tournament favourites Spain and World Cup specialists Germany. O'Driscoll's fellow Lions tourist, the defence coach Shaun Edwards, shares his opinion. "After eight days in the thin air, the difference is amazing," Edwards said.

"It really feels as though somebody has thrown a switch in your body. Playing and training is still not easy, but once you are acclimatised it is so much less difficult." However, Edwards has words of warning for teams that fail to prepare properly.

"For anyone who has not suffered the effects of playing up in the clouds, it's probably best described by trying to imagine a red-hot cup of tea being poured down your air pipes every time you breathe. It feels as if you have a chest infection and you tire very quickly. New Zealand rugby players, who visit South Africa a lot, reckon that you either play within 24 hours of arriving or you acclimatise for eight days."

The benefits of altitude training are not lost on the USA's Landon Donovan. The LA Galaxy attacking midfielder could be the chief threat when England meet the USA in their opening match of Group C in Rustenburg.

Whereas England's highest first-class football stadium is The Hawthorns, West Bromwich Albion's ground perched just 168m up in the Black Country, Donovan is used to taking on the Colorado Rapids in the MLS, who play high up in the Rockies at more than 1,500m above sea level.

The USA's all-time leading scorer said: "A mile high, in my experience, is about the point where it can affect you a little bit. It's not going to be as dramatic as it would be in Mexico City. But certainly any advantage you have with the altitude, you want to take.

"Heading into a World Cup, there are a lot of things you can't control. The draw, you can't control, where you play and who you play, how your opponent plays, you can't always control that stuff. But the things you can control, you want to control."

Something else that may prove difficult to control at South African altitude will be the new official World Cup match ball.

At sea level, the adidias Jubilani is specially designed to maximise its flow through the air but the higher the altitude at which the match is staged, the more the atmospheric conditions will have an effect on the behaviour of the ball.

Dr Andy Harland of the Sports Technology Research Group at Loughborough University, who has worked with adidas on ball design since before the 2002 World Cup, explained: "The laws of physics tell us that the ball will travel further and faster at altitude, but will bend less for a swerve or spin shot when compared with the same kicks at sea level.

"When a ball is flying through the air, the only thing - apart from gravity - that applies a force to the ball is the air. Each and every air molecule that the ball interacts with contributes to the total force. Therefore, at altitude where there are fewer air molecules, the overall forces applied to the ball are less. This means that the ball will slow down by less, so travel further and faster, but also swerve less for a given spin rate in a 'Beckham-style' swerving shot.

"It is difficult to put numbers to the amount of swerve, but speed and distance may increase by 5% [at altitude]."

And that is a figure that will have England's Wayne Rooney and company licking their lips and the bookmakers sweating over having to make a big pay-out on a World Cup for the first time since 1966.

Lowlights of England's campaigns at high altitude

England will play at the highest altitudes since the 1986 Mexico World Cup, when they went out to Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal in the quarter-finals. England lost at the same stage in the same country in 1970, surrendering a two-goal lead to West Germany.

Next summer, England's opener against the USA is in Rustenburg, 1,500m up on the high veld - nearly nine times higher than West Brom's Hawthorns stadium, which at an elevation of 168m is England highest top-class football ground.

Fabio Capello's men drop down to sea level for their next two matches, against Algeria and Slovenia in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth respectively, but to lift the trophy they would play again in Rustenburg and twice, including the final, in Johannesburg, a breathless 1,750m above sea level. England's Mexico disappointments of 1970 and 1986 should be a warning . . .

1970 quarter-final England 2 West Germany 3 aet (Leon, 1,815m) England were cruising, 2-0 up at half-time thanks to goals from Alan Mullery and Martin Peters. Sir Alf Ramsey, the manager, took off Bobby Charlton and suddenly Franz Beckenbauer found time to forage forward. Stand-in keeper Peter Bonetti, who had replaced the ill first-choice, Gordon Banks, was deceived by his long-range shot and as the heat and the altitude took their toll, Uwe Seeler levelled to take the match into extra time. Gerd Muller scored the winner, avenging defeat in the 1966 final.

1986 quarter-final Argentina 2 England 1 (Mexico City, 2,240m) England's cautious approach was rendered useless by Maradona after 50 minutes. He played a one-two with Jorge Valdano and leapt to challenge England keeper Peter Shilton for the high, looping return. As he tried to punch clear, Maradona knocked the ball into the net with his arm. The goal stood despite furious protests and England were soon 2-0 down. This time Maradona swerved past four defenders for the goal of the tournament. With 10 minutes left, Gary Lineker pulled a goal back but that proved too little, too late.