2026 FIFA World Cup dress rehearsal exposes extreme heat problem

Six weeks ago in Munich, Paris Saint-Germain overwhelmed one of the best European teams in the UEFA Champions League, winning a trophy and recognition as the best team of clubs in the world.

Sunday in East Rutherford, NJ, PSG handed over this coat to Chelsea, which rout the Parisians exhausted 3-0 in the FIFA club World Cup final, the worst loss of PSG in almost two years.

Thus ended the first extended club World Cup, a tournament manufactured mainly to monetize sport while lengthening the season six weeks for certain teams – PSG and Chelsea played for the 65th time in 48 weeks – and still congest at an already congested calendar for others. And although it attracted more than 2.4 million fans overall, more than a quarter of the matches attracted less than 17,000 people, four obtained less than 9,000 and the overall competition was on average the same attendance as the 25 best summer friendly games played in the United States last summer.

It is after FIFA, the event organizer, has considerably reduced ticket prices and, in some cases, lets people enter for free. So why did we play this tournament?

Well, the best answer is that the Club World Cup served as a general rehearsal for the real world cup, which will be played at the same time and in some of the same stadiums next year. And if FIFA has learned of the club tournament does not force it to the drawing board to make major changes for next summer – especially for the start – it will be a waste.

The biggest point to remember was time. It was path Too hot (and humid and stormy and generally heartbreaking).

Chelsea played three of her seven temperature games described by local weather authorities as “extreme”, which means that people were invited to avoid intense physical activity or, in some cases, to avoid leaving outside. (Sunday kick -off was launched in temperatures of 81 degrees and 69% humidity, conditions that required two hydration breaks.)

“The heat is incredible,” said Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, in Spanish before the final. “The other day, I became a little dizzy during a room. I had to lie on the ground because I was dizzy. Playing at this temperature is very dangerous.”

But it is not only the danger for players whose FICA should worry (although that, clearly, is essential). The conditions also modify how the game must be played, which makes it much less attractive for viewers.

“The speed of the game is not the same. Everything becomes very slow,” said Fernandez. “Hopefully next year, they change the calendar.”

Cassius Mailula de Wydad AC, Center and Mohamed Moufid, try to cool off during a group of the FIFA Club World Cup against Al Ain FC in Washington on June 26.

(Julia Demaoree Nikhinson / Associated Press)

For the club World Cup, many games started at noon or early afternoon so that they can be broadcast in prime time in Europe and Africa. But the conditions on the ground were often oppressive accordingly.

The Metlife Stadium, where the Sunday’s final has been played, will welcome eight World Cup games, including the final next summer. And although the kick -off of this tournament will not be revealed before the draw in the World Cup in December, BBC Sport said that it had learned that FIFA planned to start many games from the east coast at noon, at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. local time.

FIFA published a statement earlier this month which suggested that it did not take the problem seriously, praising the hydration breaks, in which the matches are interrupted so that the players can have a drink, such as “significant and progressive measures … in progress to protect players from heat”.

FifPro, the union representing international football players, is not so disdainful.

“From the point of view of health and safety, this [extreme heat] is something that should prioritize commercial interests with regard to players’ safety, “said Alexander Bielefeld, director of union policies and strategic relations.” The thermal conditions do not occur in a vacuum. The debate on extreme heat does not occur in a vacuum.

“It is actually completely predictable.”

According to FifPro, at least three games from the Club World Cup should have been suspended or postponed due to extreme time. It was so hot during a group game in Cincinnati, in fact, the Borussia Dortmund bench players stayed in the locker room, watching the first half on television.

The last World Cup that played in the United States in 1994 remains the hottest in history, which is remarkable for a tournament that has since been played in Africa and the Middle East. That year, Mexico and Ireland faced in Orlando, Florida, where midday temperatures reached 105 degrees. And he was doing 100 degrees on the field for the final, which started at noon at Rose Bowl. (Unsurprisingly, the match ended with a goalless draw, just like the 1999 women’s World Cup final, played in pink Bowl in equally oppressive conditions. The two games were decided in penalty kicks.)

More serious weather conditions are almost certain next year.

“What you see at the moment is very typical,” said Ben Schott, Operations Head of the National Weather Service, at The Athletic. “Next year, we may be going through the same thing.

It’s not good because half a dozen club World Cup games were delayed or interrupted by the weather this summer, including Chelsea’s victory in terms of 16 against Benfica in Charlotte, North Carolina, this match was arrested for two hours because of lightning.

“I can understand that for security reasons, you must suspend the game,” said Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca. “But if you suspend seven, eight games, it means that it is probably not the right place to do this competition.”

FIFA had the opportunity to protect its most precious property, the World Cup final, planning it for one of the four covered stadiums chosen to organize games in the United States in 2026. Instead, it will try fate – and the weather gods – playing the final in Metlife.

If there was a silver lining to these storm clouds – I try to be positive here – it is that coaches and players are now very aware of what awaits them next summer, which gives them enough time to prepare.

“We are going to prepare for next year,” said Marcus Thuram, Inter-Milan, a French international. “There are a lot of players who make the club World Cup that will do the World Cup with their country next year. So, I think it’s a good preparation.”

Hopefully FIFA is also preparing. Because if the heat was launched for the Club World Cup, it will be even warmer for the real World Cup organizers next summer.

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