EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – It was the type of heat and humidity that felt heavy, lingering over MetLife Stadium and its surrounding area like a balloon, ready to release with the torrential rainfall that came about a half hour after the final whistle. In other words, it was the type of weather that incited pre-match discussion – or well-warranted complaints.
“We are going to deal not only with our opponent but also with the weather,” Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira said plainly on Wednesday, about 24 hours before he was fully vindicated for his comments.
The Brazilian side picked up their first victory of the Club World Cup on Thursday in a 2-0 win against Egypt’s Al Ahly, benefitting first from Wessam Abou Ali’s 49th-minute own goal before substitute Jose Manuel Lopez scored 10 minutes later to seal the deal. Ferreira was right to say they would battle the opponent in what was an evenly-contested match at times, quality shots few and far between for each side. They combined for 19 shots but just three on goal, with Palmeiras making the most of their opportunities in front of goal during the early part of the second half.
The most notable battle, though, was with the weather.
What started off as a hot and humid day in the New York City area gave way to a few lightning strikes about an hour into the match, causing a stoppage in play for about 45 minutes. It may have been a far cry from the mild temperatures and drizzle of the last two games at MetLife Stadium, including Palmeiras’ opener against Porto on Sunday, but these conditions are already becoming commonplace just six days into the Club World Cup. The temperature was 88 degrees at kickoff in New Jersey and was roughly the same for Paris Saint-Germain’s win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl and Real Madrid’s draw with Al-Hilal on Wednesday at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium. Nor was the weather delay unique — Mamelodi Sundowns’ win over Ulsan HD on Tuesday had a delayed kickoff because of inclement weather at Orlando’s Inter&Co Stadium, while there was a stoppage in the middle of RB Salzburg’s win over Pachuca at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium on Wednesday,
Each and every one of those teams was caught in the middle of USA’s summertime weather extremes, all of which will likely play a big part at next summer’s World Cup co-hosted by the country, as well as Canada and Mexico. It will add an extra layer of accommodation and preparation for the teams that make the trip, be it for this year’s tournament or next year’s. The climate realities are somewhat unique to the country, even if the heat issues remind one of Qatar’s conditions that paved the way for the first winter World Cup. By selecting North America as the host for next year’s World Cup, FIFA will have to deal with the unavoidable climatic realities, though some are of their own creation.
Lightning-related delays fall in the former category, a natural result of hot and humid temperatures that are a hallmark of American summers. There is a reason why Florida and Texas, two states that will host matches at next summer’s World Cup, are sometimes known as the U.S.’ “lightning capitals” — few places are as steamy as those in the summer months, though researchers suggest climate change could increase the number of lightning strikes across the country.
So far at the Club World Cup, the weather delays have been geographically widespread, which poses unique questions for the teams that have to deal with them. On Thursday in East Rutherford, Palmeiras were already up 2-0 by the time the delay began, which led Al Ahly manager Jose Riveiro to hatch an unexpected idea — a quadruple substitution.
“It wasn’t easy to get back to the rhythm that the game was playing at that time,” Riveiro said post-match. “You have to also understand that most of the teams, including ourselves, we’re coming from very long seasons, the levels of energy are not at the best so this type of interruptions are obviously not going to help for the show.
“We came back with four subs, trying to start a new game, trying to look for new adjustments to be open but we didn’t succeed but it’s not because of the interruption. It was the same for Palmeiras as for us. Obviously the scenario was looking better for them at that time to try to slow down the game and it played well for them.”
The scoreline was not the only reason Palmeiras were comfortable in defense after the weather delay. They had already been in the habit for an hour by then, coming out in a defensive shape that surprised Al Ahly. Ferreira said the shock value was part of the game plan but their switch from the attack-minded outing against Porto to this one four days later was made with the heat in mind.
“That’s why I say, oftentimes, that different opponents provide different outcomes. I believed that we played better against Porto,” Ferreira said. “We had to take into consideration the weather. I don’t know if you could read the faces of the players but they felt the weather and the climate and that impacted them but in the beginning, the first half, we weren’t really connecting. We couldn’t really threaten the opponent.”
The heat was exacerbated by the fact that FIFA scheduled the game for noon, a familiar cadence to endure broadcasters can show four games a day, avoiding overlap at all costs, even if that means teams have to adjust their gameplans. For Ferreira, that included doing something that he rarely does — make halftime substitutions, this time against the advice of his coaching staff.
“I don’t really like to change players during the break of the first half. I think this is disrespectful to the players because … it’s like assuming you didn’t make the right choice,” he said, “but I wanted to refresh the team and I said that yesterday, I wanted to play on the strategic side [because] of the weather.”
The freshness paid off, with Lopez scoring roughly 15 minutes after coming off the bench and it endured that Palmeiras would be able to manage the post-delay portion of the match in as smooth a manner as possible.
“I think it favors the team that is winning, when we have those breaks,” Ferreira said. “We had that 45-minute interruption and then another break for hydration, but anyway, we tried to re-focus our players. I told them the game can change in two, three minutes, so I told them to focus.”
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