World Cup 2026 will present a big challenge for football players not only because it is the longest edition (with 48 teams, it will have an extra knockout round before round of 16), but also because of the heat in North America during June and July. Some teams will get luckier, as it's held all around the continent in Mexico, United States, and Canada, but the extreme heat of some areas, as well as the increasing temperatures across the world, could make it the warmer World Cup, worse than when the US hosted the tournament in 1994.
That's according to climate experts from around the world, united in World Weather Attribution (WWA), warning that one in four World Cup games could be played in very hot conditions. "Players and fans face a much higher risk of gruelling heat and humidity at the 2026 World Cup compared to the 1994 tournament on the same continent", they said.
Five games are expected to be played at 28C in the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index, that measures how effectively the body can cool itself in heat, humidity, sun exposure and wind, which according to player union FIFPRO, is above the threshold and the matches should be delayed.
Last summer at Club World Cup played in United States, matches had mandatory cooling breaks, but some players still complained that they were forced to play at the worst hours so that the matches were aired in the evening in Europe. But there's also concern about fans cramped at the stadium, "who are at even more risk because they will not be taken care of by a lot of medical doctors", said the WWA.