Hong Myung-bo's challenge to the quarterfinals of the World Cup, serious environmental variables appear. I think I'm going to die It's 39 degrees. What should I do with the crazy heat

Jun 23, 2025

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The 2026 World Cup in North and Central America will be a battle against the heat.

The FIFA Club World Cup is currently underway in the United States. The Club World Cup is popular, contrary to concerns, but all the players are complaining of the same pain. It's the heat. Juventus striker Timothy Weah played only 45 minutes, as if he were going to die. It was really hot."

Vitinha, Lee Kang-in's colleague, is also too hot right now. My whole body is burning. It was really hard. You should try to recover as much as you can, whether you're wearing compression boots or cold packs"He said the heat is bothering the players."

Although the schedule for Korea's tournament has not yet been set in detail, physical variables are expected to play a big role if the game is played in a hot area. England's The Athletic expressed concern on the 23rd (Korea time) that the heat felt at the Club World Cup could create enough deterioration in the players' performance at the World Cup a year later.

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The media reported that temperatures at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati soared to 32 degrees Celsius. During the match between Borussia Dortmund and South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns, the team posted on social media 'Our replacements watched the first half inside the locker room to avoid the hot sun. I've never seen anything like this before, but it's only natural in this heat'He shed light on the fact that the heat in the U.S. in June was so hot that players could not sit on the bench. The upcoming match between Bayern Munich and Benfica is expected to reach 37 degrees.

In response, The Athletic said 'Players, coaches and fans have already expressed concern about the high temperatures during the opening week of the Club World Cup. Temperatures are expected to rise further in the coming days as heat waves hit across the United States. Participants and experts suggested that FIFA should take aggressive action.

As the size of the World Cup expands significantly, it basically has to play four games to advance to the round of 16. If Hong Myung-bo intends to look at the round of 16 or higher, the rotation of the players is expected to be a necessity, not an option, before going to the round of 16.

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The reason why Hong Myung-bo should pay more attention to the heat variable is that the main players are old. The mainstay of the national team is from 1992 when he entered his mid-30s to 1996 when he turns 30 next year. Most of the main players are Son Heung-min, Lee Jae-sung, Hwang Hee-chan, Hwang In-beom, Kim Min-jae, Park Yong-woo, and Cho Yoo-min.

The World Cup will already take place after the European season. Since the competition is held with the players' physical strength already at the bottom, it is an environment in which players must focus more on managing their physical strength. With a cool head, South Korea is not in a position to rotate its rotation leisurely from the group stage of the World Cup. You have to do your best every game to see the round of 16.

In the case of the last Qatar World Cup, the game was played in the desert, but it was played late. There was no problem with the environment in the stadium due to the technology with oil money at the forefront. But not everyone has the latest technology in the U.S. stadiums. Even if the game is held late, you may have to play in a stadium exposed to the heat.

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The best way for Korea to overcome the heat variable is to close the gap between selection and replacement. For the next year, bold experiments are needed to ensure that young players do not have any problems even if they start so that they can overcome heat variables well. Experiments such as the last match against Kuwait are expected to be good data for coach Hong Myung-bo.

If the starting list filled with players in their 30s is maintained every game in an environment where they are forced to suffer from the heat, the players will eventually start to spread in the heat, and the ending of losing in the heat will come, not the opponent. Creating an environment where players can focus on fighting opponents, not the heat, has emerged as one of coach Hong Myung-bo's biggest tasks.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.