It’s not just empty seats that are haunting the expanded FIFA Club World Cup 2025 in the United States, but also the soaring temperatures. The situation has set alarm bells ringing, especially with the US set to co-host the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The loudest voice of complaint so far has been Atletico Madrid footballer, Marcos Llorente, who was visibly unhappy with the climate conditions during his team’s 4–0 defeat to European champions Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.

Players, fans suffer in searing heat during FIFA Club World Cup

“Playing in this heat is impossible," Llorente after the match at the Rose Bowl Stadium in California. “The heat is terrible. My toes hurt, even my toenails — I couldn’t stop or start running. It’s unbelievable, but since it’s the same for everyone… there’s no point complaining.”

As per the websites that report on weather, the temperatures during the PSG vs Atletico match neared 32°C and it has been almost the same for other games as well. The fans during the match at Rose Bowl had also complained about long queues in the heat, lack of shaded areas in the stadium and water restrictions at entry.

FIFA World Cup 2026 in US could be equally hot

Things are not expected to be much different during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The mega event next year will be held across 11 stadiums in the US, two in Canada and three in Mexico. But only five out of those 16 stadiums have roofs, while the remaining are open-air stadiums. The weather next year is expected to be equally harsh across venues.

The match timings have also contributed to the misery, with some of the games taking place in the afternoon and multiple early kickoffs on the roster due to the time difference between different geographies.

The world players’ union, FIFPRO, has already asked FIFA to change the scheduling. “FIFPRO has consistently advocated for comprehensive heat protection measures including mandatory cooling breaks, adjustments to kick-off times to avoid the most intense heat, and the postponement of matches when conditions pose a serious health risk to players,” FIFPRO said.

“With tournaments like the Club World Cup featuring dense match schedules and hot climates in locations such as Orlando and Miami, extreme heat is becoming an increasingly important health and safety issue in professional football.

“FIFPRO will closely monitor the situation in the coming weeks with a view to prioritising player welfare over other considerations.”

Currently, one mandatory break per half is allowed to tackle the humid and hot conditions, but it’s not proving to be enough. However, FIFA looks unbothered as it maintains that the Club World Cup is held on the lines of the broader International Match Calendar and sufficient protocols are already in place.

Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao both bagged braces as Juventus cruised to the top of Group G above Manchester City, who beat Wydad AC.

Trump confronts Juventus team about 'men playing in women's sports'

During their visit to the White House, some Juventus players and staff were asked by Trump, whom they presented with a club shirt, whether they thought a woman would be able to make their first team.

Trump appeared to be making a point against transgender athletes.

Juve general manager, Damien Comolli, replied that the club had a "very good women's team."

The Juventus players stayed silent but were far more comfortable speaking on the pitch as they dismantled UAE's Al Ain at Audi Field in front of 18,000 fans.

"You don't go to the White House every day, so it was a real pleasure to go there," said Juventus coach, Igor Tudor.

"(In the game) we did a number of excellent things, we played at a good tempo... all things considered, it's a good start."

Kolo Muani, who extended his loan from Paris Saint-Germain to play in the tournament in the United States, opened the scoring after 11 minutes with a header from Alberto Costa's cross.

Juventus doubled their lead 10 minutes later when Conceicao, on loan from Porto, skipped away from one defender in the box before firing home with the help of a deflection.

Turkish forward Kenan Yildiz netted the third after 31 minutes, carving out some space on the edge of the box and drilling in at the near post.

French striker Kolo Muani grabbed his second with a deft finish in first-half stoppage time to pile on the misery for Al Ain.

Kouame Autonne had a goal disallowed for offside for the UAE side before Conceicao struck again, benefitting from another slight deflection.

Kolo Muani might have completed his hat-trick when sent through but goalkeeper Rui Patricio shut him down well, and Douglas Luiz blasted narrowly off-target late on.

Kolo Muani: 'Juventus had a great game'

Juventus, who finished fourth in Serie A, are hoping to make up for a trophyless season with success in the United States this summer.

"The team had a great game, we're happy, we'll get ready for the next game," said Kolo Muani.

"I just want to play well for my team-mates, for the club, and we'll see (how many I can) score."

It is unlikely to get any easier for Al Ain as they next face Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in Atlanta.

"We respected (Juventus) more than we needed to at the beginning and this was something that let them score two or three goals easily," said Al Ain's Serbian coach Vladimir Ivic.

"We're at the World Cup and we played against such a good team... what (is there) to do? We have to think about the next one."

Mudryk had confirmed in December that a urine sample had produced the adverse finding following a routine anti-doping test, which the Ukraine international said came as a "complete shock" as he had never knowingly used a banned substance.

The 24-year-old, who joined Chelsea in January 2023 for an initial fee of 62 million pounds ($83.44 million), had been provisionally suspended and has not played since.

"We can confirm that Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged with Anti-Doping Rule Violations alleging the presence and/or use of a prohibited substance, in terms of Regulations 3 and 4 of The FA's Anti-Doping Regulations," an FA spokesperson told Reuters.

"As this is an ongoing case, we are not in a position to comment further at this time."

The regulations deal with the presence of a prohibited substance or its metabolites or the use or attempted use by a player of a prohibited substance or a prohibited method.

Mudryk risks a four-year ban if he cannot establish that the anti-doping rule violation was not intentional.

Reuters has contacted Chelsea but the club has not commented on the charges.

Manchester City will open their campaign on 16 August (Saturday) at the Molineux Stadium against Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Chelsea face Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Overall, there will be 38 Matchweeks and a combined total of 380 matches will be played among 20 teams. (First Post)