Chelsea's Fernandez warns about 'dangerous' heat at Club World Cup
The inaugural 32-team Club World Cup, which concludes on Sunday with Chelsea facing Paris Saint-Germain in the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, has delivered a spectacle on the pitch but concerns over player welfare and lukewarm attendances in the U.S. have sparked a debate.
Tuesday's semi-final between Chelsea and Fluminense which took place at 3 p.m. local time in New Jersey saw temperatures soar past 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) with over 54% humidity, prompting a National Weather Service warning.
Soaring temperatures in several cities hosting the Club World Cup have been a focal point in the tournament, which is seen as a dry run for next year's men's World Cup.
'Honestly, the heat is incredible. The other day I had to lie down on the ground because I was really dizzy,' Fernandez told reporters on Friday.
'Playing in this temperature is very dangerous, it's very dangerous. Moreover, for the spectacle, for the people who come to enjoy the stadium, for the people who watch it at home.
'The game, the speed of the game is not the same, everything becomes very slow.
'Well, let's hope that next year they change the schedule, at least so that it remains a beautiful and attractive football spectacle, right?' the 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina added.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has also previously complained about the heat, saying it was 'impossible' to organise regular training sessions in the afternoons in Philadelphia.
'Some places have been really hot, the last round was hot and I was stuck watching it and I was thinking: 'wow, this is so tough.' I felt bad for them but they managed it really well,' Chelsea centre back Levi Colwill said - REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
28 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Club World Cup serves as 2026 dry run amid heat, pitch concerns
Club World Cup venues received criticism from coaches and players for the quality of their pitches. (AP pic) NEW YORK : The inaugural 32-team Club World Cup wrapped up today with plenty of lessons learned for organisers Fifa, with the tournament in the US, won by Chelsea, acting as a preview of the 2026 World Cup. A record 48 teams will descend on co-hosts US, Canada and Mexico next year for the quadrennial spectacle, with 104 matches on the schedule, up from just 64 the last time the tournament was held in 2022 in Qatar. In anticipation, Fifa expanded the Club World Cup this year to more than four times its original size with 32 teams, in a format that mimicked what fans can expect next year. 'It's a dry run for Fifa,' said Alan Rothenberg, the former president of US Soccer who was responsible for overseeing the World Cup the last time it was held in the US, in 1994. 'There were some mistakes early on and some issues early on but presumably they have now learned their lesson on how to stage a tournament in multiple cities in this vast country of ours. So I think it's going to make it a lot smoother from here on out for '26 because they now have experience.' Organisers faced criticism from players, fans and coaches for a range of issues from pitch conditions to scheduling to heat, with some games played to packed stands and others to sparse crowds baking in temperatures of 29°C and higher. Global players' union Fifpro said the heat, in particular, should 'serve as a wake-up call', with organisers pressured to schedule matches earlier in the day to accommodate the extraordinary scale of the tournament. Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez described the temperatures as 'very dangerous' to play in. 'Every criticism that we receive is a source for us to study, to analyse, to see what we can do better,' Fifa president Gianni Infantino told reporters ahead of the final. 'Of course, the heat is definitely an issue. It's an issue all over the world.' Infantino said that the tournament in 2026 would use stadiums with roofs and climate control to accommodate more of the daytime games. Of the 16 World Cup stadiums, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Vancouver have roofs. 'We need to look at what we can do better. We introduced cooling breaks. It's obviously very important we water the pitch. We can see how we can do things better in America as well as in Canada for next year, in Vancouver,' said Infantino. Fifa is taking greater operational control over the 2026 tournament compared to previous editions, said Rothenberg, who is now chairman of Premier Partnerships, a division of Playfly Sports. 'I don't think they did (Club World Cup) as an experiment but it turns out to be a great experience for Fifa going forward,' said Rothenberg, whose forthcoming book 'The Big Bounce' explores football's popularity in the US. 'Historic event' Global football's governing body has put boots on the ground in the US in preparation for the World Cup, setting up field offices in Miami and at New York's Trump Tower. US President Donald Trump was on hand to deliver the trophy at MetLife Stadium today to Chelsea, after the Premier League side thrashed Paris St-Germain 3-0 in front of an enthusiastic crowd. From January until the end of next year's tournament, Fifa will maintain a 485,000 square-foot broadcast centre in Dallas. A smaller version was used in the parking lot at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the Club World Cup. 'This is not a test run – we're going to have a lot of learnings from 2025 but this is a historic event for us,' Oscar Sanchez, head of host broadcast production, told reporters. 'It's massive – but 2026 is humongous.' MetLife Stadium, which hosted today's final, is set to host the 2026 World Cup's showpiece, with ongoing research to optimise pitch conditions in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Despite efforts, including transporting Bermuda grass overnight in refrigerated trucks, Club World Cup venues received criticism from coaches and players for pitch quality. 'We'll report post this tournament and take lessons forward to 2026,' said Blair Christensen, pitch venue manager. 'These guys here that work on the pitch with me they are far sharper and better than they were 35 days ago and we'll take that forward to next year as well.'
Malaysia Sun
an hour ago
- Malaysia Sun
China shines at women's softball Asia Cup 2025
XI'AN, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Host China notched a pair of 15-0 wins against India and Hong Kong, China at the ongoing women's softball Asia Cup 2025 here on Monday. Runner-up in the tournament's previous edition, China took an early lead against India in the first inning, with Xie Yue contributing a base hit that allowed Yan Siyu to score. The host continued to increase its advantage, scoring 10 runs in the second inning to eliminate any suspense. In the third inning, Xie Jiaxin hit a home run, and Li Jiaqi sealed the victory with an outstanding base hit. "I am very happy with the result, and I'd like to thank my coach for giving me the opportunity to play," Li Xintian of Xi'an Physical Education University told Xinhua after her China debut. "After the first inning, the coach asked us to be patient. His suggestion made our performance become better and better." Li Xintian added. In the later game, China hit two home runs in the second inning against Hong Kong, building a 13-0 lead before the third inning. The team added two more points, earning their second consecutive win. "We still have something to improve although we had two wins. For example, we may do better in defense and running," said China's Ren Min. The Asia Cup also serves as the qualifier for the 2026 Women's Softball World Cup and the 2026 Asian Games. The top three teams will qualify for the World Cup, while the top eight will secure spots at the Asian Games. The 10 teams will compete in a round-robin format over the first six days of the seven-day event. The top two teams will face off in the gold medal game on Sunday, while the third and fourth-place teams will compete for the bronze medal. "Since May 18, our team has been training together. Our players executed our tactics well, and their performance looks promising," said China's team manager Yang Liu. In other matches on the opening day, Chinese Taipei defeated Hong Kong 10-0, and overwhelmed Thailand 19-0. Defending champion Japan beat Malaysia 10-0, while the Philippines routed Thailand 15-1, and South Korea edged Singapore 5-0. On Tuesday, China will face Malaysia and Thailand.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Heatwaves in Spain caused 1,180 deaths in past two months, ministry says
MADRID: High temperatures caused 1,180 deaths in Spain in the past two months, a sharp increase from the same period last year, the Environment Ministry said on Monday. The vast majority of people who died were over 65 and more than half were women, the data it cited showed. The most affected regions were Galicia, La Rioja, Asturias and Cantabria - all located in the northern half of the country, where traditionally cooler summer temperatures have seen a significant rise in recent years. Like other countries in Western Europe, Spain has been hit by extreme heat in recent weeks, with temperatures often topping 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). The 1,180 people who died of heat-related causes between May 16 and July 13 compared with 70 in the same period in 2024, the ministry said in a statement citing data from the Carlos III Health Institute. The number of deaths increased significantly in the first week in July. The data shows an event 'of exceptional intensity, characterized by an unprecedented increase in average temperatures and a significant increase in mortality attributable to heatwaves', the ministry said. In the period the data covers, there were 76 red alerts for extreme heat, compared with none a year earlier. Last summer, 2,191 deaths were attributed to heat-related causes in Spain, according to data from the Carlos III Health Institute. The data from Spain follows a rapid scientific analysis published on July 9 that said around 2,300 people died of heat-related causes across 12 European cities during a severe heatwave in the 10 days to July 2. It was not immediately clear whether the study conducted by scientists at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine was using the same methodology as the Spanish data. – Reuters
