PHILADELPHIA — On the nation’s 250th anniversary, in the city where the United States was born, it was fitting that the weather for France’s Round of 16 showdown with Paraguay could be easily summed up by a line from the tune “Sit Down, John” from the Broadway play “1776.”
“It’s hot as hell in Philadelphia!”
Temperatures were expected to hit highs around 100 degrees Saturday, and it had already reached 99 degrees two hours before kickoff at Lincoln Financial Field.
There had been some concern ahead of the match that the extreme heat that was smothering the East Coast would impact the start time of the match, but the weather didn’t stop the large and enthusiastic French contingent that made their way to the City of Brotherly Love.
Saturday’s match is expected to end up being one of the hottest World Cup matches in the tournament’s history.
The extreme heat wasn’t too much of a shock to French manager Didier Deschamps, who had been in the United States for the Club World Cup last summer. The Club World Cup had several matches impacted by weather conditions, which included extreme heat that traditionally hits in the summer months.
“I was with [France assistant coach] Guy Stephan at the final and semifinal of the Club World Cup,” Deschamps said Friday ahead of the match. “We were in the stadium. We saw that it was quite hot, and we could discuss. And it did have an impact. Now, is this good for the players’ health as soon as there are extreme conditions, whether it’s heat or cold or a hard pitch? It’s not ideal. But we didn’t choose, so we adapt and we anticipate.”
Saturday’s extreme temperatures were what health professionals had warned FIFA about months ahead of the start of the World Cup, and that had made headlines last summer during the Club World Cup over concerns about player safety during the summer months in North America.
In May, a collection of medical professionals wrote an open letter to FIFA urging the sport’s governing body to “adopt heat-management protocols that prioritize prevention over response.”
French forward Désiré Doué acknowledged that the heat is a big factor, especially when it’s reaching the temperatures that it did Saturday.
Doué noted that both France and Paraguay had to play in the same conditions.
“Well, yes, we are wasting a lot of energy,” he said. “We are sweating more, wasting more water. We might lose some lucidity on the pitch. We arrived in the U.S. It was hot. Today, it’s hotter. And so be it tomorrow. Both teams will experience the same conditions, and we are fully ready for this game.”
Every match of the FIFA World Cup will air on either FOX or FOX Sports 1. If you don’t have cable, you can take advantage of a DIRECTV free trial to stream it all.
Prefer to check out the action live and in person? Shop World Cup 2026 tickets on SeatGeek and make sure to use promo code NYPOST10 for $10 off purchases over $250 at checkout if you’re a first-time SeatGeek user.
France had entered Saturday’s match the favorite as they’ve rolled through the tournament, allowing just two total goals in the group stage and Round of 32.
The French have taken down Sweden, Norway, Iraq and Senegal, posting clean sheets against Sweden and Senegal. However, Doué wasn’t taking anything for granted, despite his country’s position as World Cup favorites.
“We have been the favorites before the competition started. We will be the favorites for tomorrow,” he said. “But I do not believe that these [odds] will help us win a game. … We will need to be perfect from the first to the last minute.”
