{"id":6124,"date":"2026-07-03T07:34:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T07:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6124"},"modified":"2026-07-03T07:34:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T07:34:56","slug":"eastern-heat-on-july-4-threatens-world-cup-players-and-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6124","title":{"rendered":"Eastern heat on July 4 threatens World Cup players and fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Saturday\u2019s afternoon knockout round game between France and Paraguay in Philadelphia could be this World Cup<\/a> tournament\u2019s hottest, posing dangers to the region as well as athletes and tens of thousands of fans in the open-air stadium.<\/p>\n

Read more No, the U.S. can\u2019t save their star from a one-game ban<\/a><\/p>\n

A heat wave<\/a> is expected to continue across the eastern and central U.S. through the end of the week, with peak heat indexes \u2014 which combine air temperature with humidity \u2014 between 100 F to 115 F (37.78 C to 46.11 C), according to the National Weather Service. High night temperatures will bring little relief and records could be broken.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, French players cooled off from temperatures that hit 90 F (32.22 C) with field sprinklers during their match against Sweden in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Concerns about extreme heat during the games<\/a> in the U.S., Canada and Mexico have been growing for months, with some scientists saying that FIFA’s<\/a> heat safety guidelines are \u201cinadequate\u201d and \u201cimpossible to justify,\u201d even for heat acclimatized players. For spectators, that could mean games are slower and less intense.<\/p>\n

The world has warmed roughly 1.26 F (0.7 C) in the last three decades since the U.S. last hosted the World Cup, according to the climate monitoring group Berkeley Earth. Global temperature increases intensify and make heat waves and other severe weather more common.<\/p>\n

The humid heat engulfing the country, as well as parts of Canada, would\u2019ve been \u201cvirtually impossible\u201d without climate change, scientists with the World Weather Attribution said Friday.<\/p>\n

The 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar was moved from summer to winter because of the extreme heat threat, and last year, temperatures soared at the Club World Cup<\/a> . The soccer players\u2019 global union<\/a> warned that extreme heat would likely be a bigger problem at this and the next World Cups.<\/p>\n

One of the hottest World Cup games was in 1994 in Orlando, Florida, when temperatures hit 110 F (43.33 C).<\/p>\n

Heat hits people from both their surroundings as well as while their bodies warm during exercise. That makes it harder to cool down when it\u2019s really hot and humid, said Bharat Venkat, director of the Heat Lab at the University of California, Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when you\u2019re exerting yourself on a particularly hot day, the likelihood of experiencing heat related illness or even death is much higher,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Intense exercise on a sizzling day can lead to extreme fatigue, impaired performance, headache, irritability, nausea, dizziness, cramping and dehydration, all symptoms of exertional heat illness.<\/p>\n

Exertional heat stroke requires immediate medical attention and is the third leading cause of death in athletes.<\/p>\n

When the wet bulb globe temperature \u2014 which includes temperature, humidity, cloud cover and wind \u2014 reaches above about 95 F (35 C), people lose their ability to cool off quickly, said Ryan Calsbeek, professor of biological sciences at Dartmouth College, and \u201cthe physiological mechanisms just break down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Embolo, Ndoye score and Switzerland moves on at the World Cup with a 2-0 win over Algeria<\/a><\/p>\n

Heat-induced confusion could also influence a player\u2019s decisions and could determine a match\u2019s outcome, he said.<\/p>\n

Mandatory three-minute hydration breaks<\/a> midway through each half are to protect players, and referees, from extreme heat illness. But they\u2019ve sparked criticism from different groups: some say they\u2019re interrupting the game\u2019s flow<\/a> and give coaches a chance to shift momentum in their team\u2019s favor, while some scientists have said the breaks should be longer to allow players to meaningfully cool and rehydrate when heat is extreme.<\/p>\n

Matches outdoors during peak heat hours have also been limited, and those expected in warmer windows are prioritized for covered stadiums, FIFA said.<\/p>\n

FIFA\u2019s guidelines say a match could be postponed if the wet bulb globe temperature reaches 89.60 F (32 C). But that temperature is \u201cso extreme that in the military, at our basic training facilities in America, if it reaches 32, it\u2019s black flag and all training has to be canceled and stopped,\u201d said Douglas Casa, CEO of the University of Connecticut\u2019s Korey Stringer Institute.<\/p>\n

Temperatures are forecast over 100 F (37.78 C) during Saturday\u2019s game in Philadelphia. The player\u2019s union FIFPRO, as well as the American College of Sports Medicine, has called for matches to be delayed at 82.40 F (28 C) for safety.<\/p>\n

Guilherme Passos monitors and prepares Brazil\u2019s national team for extreme heat as a sport scientist at the Brazilian Football Federation.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s helped the team acclimate to the U.S. heat. \u201cIf you expose them straight to the hottest time of the day you can lose a bit of training quality,\u201d he said. They use saunas or hot baths as they heat train during the competition.<\/p>\n

When Brazil hosted the World Cup in 2014, Passos said, players covered less distance and reduced high-speed running, and instead increased their technical and tactical precision.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoccer players are a really unique mix of athletic attributes,\u201d said Calsbeek. \u201cThey have to have extreme endurance and explosive speed. And then on top of that, they have to make really critical decisions. All of those different facets of the sport will be affected by the temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n

But soccer players aren\u2019t the only ones at risk. Many soccer fans are drinking alcohol and watching the World Cup. In heat, doing that is risky<\/a> . Cities and stadiums have increased access to shade, cooling areas and water, and medical personnel are stationed in FIFA Fan Festivals and around stadiums.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are going to be dehydrated, super excited, and not wanting to leave the match,\u201d said Calsbeek. \u201cWe\u2019re likely to see, in those extreme temperatures, spectators pay the price as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP\u2019s environmental coverage, visit https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/climate-and-environment<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more Dodgers erase early 6-run deficit and win 12-7 to extend Padres\u2019 losing streak<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forecasters say the hottest World Cup tournament match so far this year could hit Saturday afternoon, during the knockout round game between France and Paraguay in Philadelphia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nEastern heat on July 4 threatens World Cup players and fans - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6124\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eastern heat on July 4 threatens World Cup players and fans - 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