WASHINGTON, D.C. – The first 48-team World Cup was always destined to have unique quirks but as FIFA closed out their week in Washington, D.C., they came up with one final random twist for a week centered around Friday’s draw. Representatives from the qualified teams gathered one last time on Saturday for a schedule reveal event, one so random that even president Gianni Infantino did not know what to call it when he entered the stage. The event, though, did serve a practical purpose – visiting national teams finally found out which stadiums they would play their opening games in, FIFA essentially splitting the experience of the luck of the draw in two parts.
While head coaches waited to find out their exact opponents on Friday before pondering their side’s strengths against their group stage foes, the major talking points from Saturday’s schedule reveal were the elements that await them regardless of the other team on the pitch. Whether they watched from up close or from a distance, many got a preview of a North American summer during this year’s Club World Cup – a not-so-pleasant preview, to be exact. Hot and humid days were essentially experienced by all 32 club teams at the U.S.-based tournament, leaving World Cup coaches rooting for the best-case scenario in terms of logistics.
Several got what they wanted and breathed a sigh of relief once the schedule was unveiled. The list included Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann, who will open their World Cup against the Caribbean nation of Curacao at Houston’s NRG Stadium, the first NFL venue to build a retractable roof. They will then take on Ivory Coast at Toronto’s BMO Field and close out Group E action against Ecuador at MetLife Stadium in the New York suburbs in a match that kicks off at 4 p.m. local time.
“I think it’s three good stadiums, climate [controlled] stadiums so it’s more easy for us,” Nagelsmann said. “We’re not used to this high temperature, less [so] than Curacao, but now it’s in a climate [controlled] stadium, air conditions. It’s more easy for us. Second game in Toronto, I think it’s not that hot compared to Miami or other venues so at least the last game in New York, it will be very hot but … we’ll try to travel as early as possible to the U.S. so that we can adapt to the temperature and we’ll be very prepared.”
Much like the temperatures, distance was top of mind ahead of a World Cup with a sizable geographic footprint. The 2026 tournament will be spread from coast to coast and features host cities as far north as Vancouver and as far south as Mexico City, which varies greatly from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2018 competition that was confined to Russia’s western cities. Head coach Rudi Garcia considered himself lucky that Belgium will be confined to the west coast for their Group G games against Egypt, Iran and New Zealand. Belgium are targeting a base camp in Seattle following the draw.
“Our base camp will be the west coast so normally, we’ll be in Seattle,” Garcia said. “We are lucky about that because we are in the west coast, but in the north of the west coast. Seattle, Vancouver, it will not be hot to play, just a long flight – or an important flight – to go to [Los Angeles]. Maybe it will be a little hotter but not so much. The particularity of our games, the two first games, is that we will play at noon, at 12 [p.m], so it’s not so easy to prepare. We need to wake up the players earlier.”
Portugal were also on the receiving end of a favorable situation with two games at NRG Stadium – one against Uzbekistan and another against the winner of an intercontinental playoff – and a third at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, the last one a game against Colombia with a 7:30 p.m. local kickoff time that will at least ensure the sun will not be beating down on players. Head coach Roberto Martinez, a member of FIFA’s technical study group during the Club World Cup, said the game-time conditions are just one part of navigating North America’s unique summertime patterns.
“It really alerted me for many red flags and aspects we need to anticipate so from that point of view, it was essential to have that experience,” Martinez said about the Club World Cup. “Now, I stayed in Miami for a long time so we got to play in Miami. I’m really happy with that. We’re going to play in Houston. … Red flags is the training times, what you should do in terms of the cooling breaks, in terms of the potential threat of a storm and logistics, where would you train before a game. There are many aspects with the logistics that are very unique, very different. It’s never happened that three countries are organizing a World Cup. You can imagine that there are many aspects that are still a little bit unknown.”
Final World Cup preparations underway
As a global soccer convention of sorts comes to a close in Washington, D.C., the focus for World Cup-bound teams immediately shifts to scouting the teams they will face six months from now. In March, though, those national teams will reconvene for their final international break before the World Cup. Portugal and Belgium have booked trips to North America to face World Cup co-hosts U.S. and Mexico, the pair of friendlies offering an important trial run with next summer’s tournament now fully in sight.
Those friendlies were confirmed before Friday’s draw and Saturday’s schedule reveal, the visiting national teams among several who wanted to get a feel for things in North America before the tournament began. Portugal’s March schedule was mostly constructed with a visit to Azteca Stadium to face Mexico in mind in case a trip to the venue would be required during the World Cup, something that is now unlikely. They will also face the U.S. men’s national team in Atlanta, where they could play knockout matches depending on their run.
“I think playing in the Azteca, for us, was the main point,” Martinez said. “Playing at altitude is not something we can do playing in Europe. In Europe, playing at 1,500 meters is nowhere near the preparation you need for the Azteca so for us, the aspect of reliv[ing] the big moments in ’86. We all grew up having many memories of those moments in the Azteca so for us from a psychological aspect, I think it makes total sense to live that in March rather than in the opening game of our World Cup story.”
Martinez previously visited Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Super Bowl 2017 but as a spectator, though playing against the USMNT offers a chance to face a team from North America. While the final member of Group K will not be determined until March, that spot could be occupied by Jamaica should they get through a playoff that includes New Caledonia and DR Congo.
“To be honest, I haven’t seen them,” he said of the USMNT. “We were focused on our preparation and qualifying for the World Cup but we’re excited because I think playing USA is the only opportunity to play Concacaf teams so we’re really looking forward. Obviously, Mauricio Pochettino is a very experienced coach and the technical staff, and they worked at the highest levels in Europe so we know them very, very well so it’ll be only good things about their work and their preparation for the team so I think it’s a great game for both national teams to prepare for the World Cup.”
