Leeds United winger Raphinha has shoehorned himself into the Brazil setup over the past couple of months, wasting no time in establishing himself as a key player for O Seleção .
Two goals and two assists during his first international break away with the national team cemented his place in Tite's squad for further camps, including this month.
South American World Cup qualifying requires countries to partake in 18 qualification matches in order to determine who makes it to the finals.
Due to COVID-19 disruptions and fixture congestion, CONMEBOL - South America's UEFA equivalent - has organised fixtures for late January and early February 2022.
Brazil will take on Ecuador and Paraguay over the course of the next week, but have already qualified for the tournament later this year.
Nevertheless, manager Tite has called up a strong squad which includes Leeds' talisman Raphinha.
The 25-year-old is expected to start in this evening's contest between Brazil and Ecuador in the Ecuadorean capital Quito, as per Globo.
An unusual encounter, Raphinha and his teammates will play out the fixture at 8,969 feet above sea level due to Quito's location in the Andes' mountain range.
For those who are not keen mountaineers or geography experts, this is almost 19 times higher than Molineux - which is currently the Premier League's highest ground above sea level at 483 feet.
High altitude training for athletes typically occurs between 7,000-8,000 feet above sea level, meaning Raphinha's exertion during the game in Quito will likely be closely monitored by Leeds' physio and medical teams back in the United Kingdom.
At 9,000 feet, there is even less oxygen in the air, putting muscles under greater strain and limiting the amount of high-intensity running players who are not used to the conditions are able to perform. However, repeated training at such altitudes can offer endurance benefits when competing at a more normal elevation.
Famously, Argentina have been beaten twice by South American minnows Bolivia at the Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz which lies 9,800 feet above sea level.
In 2009, with Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano in a side managed by Diego Maradona, La Albiceleste were beaten 6-1.
Then, in 2017 Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria were part of an Argentina team defeated 2-0 in the Bolivian capital city.
