MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Carla Gregory was battling the heat even before she attended Saturday’s World Cup quarterfinal match between England and Norway.
She had a glass of cold water in one hand. She had a folding fan in her other hand, which she was flapping in hopes of creating a little breeze of her own. And the elements seemed to be winning. No matter what she tried, England fans felt uncomfortable at best.
“I can’t imagine playing 90 minutes,” said Gregory, who came to the United States with her husband from their home in Telford, England, to follow the team through the World Cup.
Norway was worried about Harry Kane. England had Erling Haaland to worry about. And, as was the theme of this World Cup, both teams had to worry about the weather. When the team began warming up Saturday afternoon, the temperature was 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius), which felt like 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) when you factor in the humidity.
This was a sharp contrast to the seasonal temperatures of 72 degrees Celsius (22 degrees Celsius) in London and 59 degrees Celsius (15 degrees Celsius) in Lillehammer at the time.
“I think we have practiced very lightly,” Norway coach Starre Solbakken said on the eve of the game. “We don’t work very hard. There are tactical sessions, of course, but the tempo is low and we don’t train for long periods of time.”
In other words, rest and hydration were priorities in Norway, and we spent most of the week acclimatizing in South Florida. The England squad arrived in the Miami area late in the week.
“You could say we’ve been playing in cool conditions so far,” England defender Nico O’Reilly said. “But we are ready for it.”
This was not the first time England visited South Florida on a World Cup trip. The team arrived in Palm Beach Gardens, about 90 minutes north of Miami Gardens, on June 2nd after more than a week of training and experiencing the heat and humidity.
England also had to adapt to the high temperatures at their base camp in Kansas City and survive the high altitudes of Mexico to beat the co-hosts in the round of 16, but they faced nothing like the combination of heat and humidity that greeted the team on Saturday.
Gregory said he feels for the players.
“It’s hard just to sit and watch,” Gregory said.
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Gracie Fisher is a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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See more of The Associated Press’ World Cup coverage here.
