MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Before the Club World Cup even began, at 5 p.m. on a scorching Saturday, the perils of summer soccer in the United States became apparent. Hundreds of fans packed into a narrow, shadeless corridor here waiting to enter Hard Rock Stadium. An elderly man, struggling in 92-degree heat, staggered toward a chair; a preteen boy later keeled over and doused himself with water. “We’re gonna pass out,” one woman said, as she pleaded with security to open locked gates, to no avail.
And they weren’t the only ones melting; players are, too.
After Paris Saint-Germain’s 4-0 win over Atlético Madrid the following day in Pasadena, California, PSG coach Luis Enrique said, “The teams are suffering.”
Atlético midfielder Marcos Llorente told reporters: “It’s impossible, it’s terribly hot. My toes were sore, my toenails were hurting, I couldn’t stop and start. … It’s unbelievable.”
His PSG counterpart Vitinha said: “I’m all red. It was really difficult.”
All involved, including 80,000 fans at the Rose Bowl, got previews of an inescapable danger at the 2026 World Cup, which will also be staged at 11 stadiums across the U.S., plus two in Canada and three in Mexico. Five of those 16 stadiums have roofs; but the rest are open-air and susceptible to weather. And of the 11 outdoor venues, seven are scheduled to experience “extreme” humidity and temperatures in the 90s over the coming week — the same June window in which the World Cup will be played next summer.
In the immediate term, that’s a concern for the Club World Cup. Temperatures are projected to rise into the mid-90s as Juventus and Wydad kick off at noon in Philadelphia on Sunday; and as Benfica and Bayern Munich battle at 3 p.m. in Charlotte on Tuesday. There are highs of 98 and 100 in East Rutherford, N.J., and Philly respectively early next week, when night games are scheduled between Al Ahly and Porto, and Esperance Tunis and Chelsea.
Even in the low 90s, at noon and 1 p.m. in Southern California on Sunday, fans and players struggled to cope. “No European team is used to competing in such high temperatures,” Llorente said.
And even goalkeepers have been affected. “It’s difficult. First time in my life I felt heat like this,” Benfica’s Anatoliy Trubin said after Benfica’s draw with Boca Juniors in 90-degree, humid Miami Gardens.
In Pasadena, Enrique said: “The match was clearly influenced by the temperature. … It’s impossible to perform at a very high level for 90 minutes.”
Enrique also noted the issue was the noon PT start. “The timing is great for European fans, but the teams are suffering,” he said.
That will be the tension at the heart of FIFA’s 2026 World Cup scheduling. It tends to prioritize broadcasters and TV viewers, sometimes at the expense of players and match-going fans. It schedules three or four games per day and spreads them out into exclusive windows. Some, therefore, must go in the afternoon, when there is often no reprieve from the summer sun — but when it’s prime time in Europe and Africa.
Players are afforded one water break per half — during which they’ve draped ice-cold towels over their heads and neck — but some experts worry that’s not enough. At last summer’s Copa América, Uruguay defender Ronald Araújo exited a game at halftime feeling “dizzy.” An assistant referee collapsed and was hospitalized, having “suffered from dehydration,” according to organizers.
Those scares led many to wonder how FIFA would adapt to avoid such danger. But its Club World Cup schedule placed afternoon games in Cincinnati, Pasadena, Miami, North Jersey, Philadelphia, Orlando, Charlotte, Nashville and Washington, D.C.
FIFA did not immediately respond to an email seeking information on what extra precautions, if any, are being prepared for the heat wave expected to hit some of those cities later this week.
In the meantime, players say they’re adapting, and “trying to recover as much as possible,” Vitinha said. “Because at this point in the season, it can be decisive.”
