It is perhaps of little surprise that World Cup favorites France struggled to find a way past Paraguay for a multitude of reasons.
While the 2018 world champions and 2022 beaten finalists have largely been destroying everyone in their path during this year’s World Cup, only a Kylian Mbappe penalty scored in the 70-minute separated the teams.
Much has been made about the way in which the Paraguayan players approached the match. Though there’s clearly no right way to play soccer, they have been criticized for some of their tackles on the French players.
Still, having to break down a defensive team wasn’t the only issue in play for France in Philadelphia on Saturday. The searing heat was also a problem.
High temperatures in Philadelphia for France vs Paraguay
Indeed, a journalist called Saber Desfarges from French media outlet Telefoot posted a photo on social media platform X highlighting just how hot it was inside the Philadelphia Stadium, otherwise known as the Lincoln Financial Field.
An image posted by Desfarges showed temperatures measured on the seats hitting a huge 69.7 degrees Celsius, which is 157.46 degrees Fahrenheit.
So much has been made about the advent of hydration breaks during this year’s World Cup but the two the players were given during this particular game were clearly needed.
It will be fascinating to see what impact the weather has on games going forward. We are now approaching what is known as the ‘business end’ of the World Cup, where every game really does matter.
The heat and the looming threat of storms could have a major impact on how the tournament develops from here.
France’s last game in Philadelphia was also impacted by weather conditions, with their group stage meeting against Iraq delayed by two hours because of storms.
Philadelphia has played host to six games during the World Cup but their job is now complete and no further games will be played there.
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