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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Dharna Noor and Seán Clarke

Nearly one in five World Cup matches reached heat levels players’ union warns against

Man in a blue striped jersey squirts water on his face from a blue bottle
Kylian Mbappe of France cools off during a hydration break in the Group I match between France and Iraq at Philadelphia Stadium on 22 June 2026. Photograph: Hannah Peters/Fifa/Getty Images

The climate crisis has come for football.

During this year’s World Cup, nearly one in five of the tournament’s 100-plus matches took place in levels of heat and humidity that a football players’ union has previously said should trigger delays or postponements, a Guardian analysis has found. An additional 23 matches were played in cities as they reached those heat levels, but in stadiums where conditions were mitigated by air conditioning.

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