Santos confront altitude, logistics and poor record in Sudamericana quarter-final bid | OneFootball

Santos visit Macará on Thursday at 19:00 Brasília time in Ambato, seeking a Copa Sudamericana quarter-final place, but face hurdles before kick-off.

According to Globo.com, the trip will be in two legs, with an afternoon flight to Quito on Tuesday, expected to take six hours.

On arrival, players will travel by bus for almost three hours to Ambato, at 2,600 metres above sea level and about 150 km from the capital.

Santos' record at altitude this century is poor. In 25 matches they have five wins, six draws and 14 defeats, a 28% points return. The sample covers Libertadores and Sudamericana fixtures between 2001 and 2026.

It will be their first match in Ambato. A draw is enough to take them through after a 2-1 win in the first leg.

Ecuador and Bolivia have been their most frequent altitude destinations, seven times each. Regular opponents include LDU with four games, one win and three defeats, América of Mexico with three, two draws and one defeat, and The Strongest with three, two defeats and one draw.

Source: Globo.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”