Mexican fans blast horns outside Ecuador’s hotel, fueling a sleepless World Cup eve

Team hotel serenades are a deeply entrenched, highly polarizing tradition in Latin American soccer. While they began as a passionate way for fans to rally behind the home team, they have increasingly evolved into a psychological weapon designed to rob visiting players of a good night’s sleep.

The fan ambush, organized on social media, added to a chaotic arrival for Ecuador. The disruption capped off a grueling logistical nightmare for Ecuador, who had deliberately planned a last-minute Monday night arrival to mitigate the effects of Mexico City’s 2,200-meter (7,300 feet) altitude.

To mitigate the physiological toll of thin air, sports scientists generally recommend two contrasting approaches: an extended acclimatization period of at least two weeks, or the “fly-in, fly-out” method — arriving as close to kick-off as possible before acute symptoms set in.

That is the route that teams for the major sports leagues in the United States use when they come to play in Mexico City.

But Ecuador’s journey from Columbus, Ohio, was plagued by delays from the start. Ecuador’s head coach, Sebastián Beccacece, complained that their flight was delayed by more than three hours, though he did not specify whether he had factored in the two-hour time difference between the cities.

“A flight delay, then the transfer to the hotel — it ended up being a nine-hour journey; we took three hours longer than scheduled,” said Beccacece. “But the team is doing well and is excited — obviously facing an opponent that posted good results in the group stage.”

To make matters worse, the team landed at Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), located a distant 65 kilometers (41 miles) from their hotel. The squad was forced to navigate the trek to Santa Fe through Mexico City’s notoriously heavy traffic, which was further paralyzed by heavy Monday night rain.

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here