FC Dallas are making good use of their weekend off ahead of the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal series at Pachuca on Tuesday (10 pm ET).
Dallas, who were initially scheduled to play at Colorado on Saturday but moved their match against the Rapids to October to better prepare for the CCL, traveled on Wednesday to Mexico to get a jump on training ahead of Tuesday’s contest.
Dallas will train in Puebla, Mexico for the next few days before traveling about 100 miles north to Pachuca on Monday. The club’s motivation for heading south of the border so far in advance of Tuesday’s matchup was twofold – it’ll allow the team to acclimatize to the high elevation they’ll deal with in Leg 2 and will force them to mentally hone in ahead of a huge road match.
“It’s great prep for us. Not only physically, but mentally, as well, to get away and really concentrate on the task at hand, which is to move on to the finals of the Champions League,” FCD defender Walker Zimmerman told the club’s website. “It’s a great experience to be here. Now we’ve got a full week of training ahead of us to prepare for what’s arguably the biggest game that we’ve had as a club. We’re ready for it and looking forward to get going.”
Dallas hold a slight lead heading into the second leg after beating Pachuca 2-1 in Leg 1 at Toyota Stadium on March 15.
