Heat is on

Even coaches who had prepared for every eventuality have been caught out at the World Cup by unexpectedly high temperatures in Germany. The teams arrived in northern Europe under grey skies and temperatures so low for the season that Japan's players complained of being constantly chilly. But once the tournament kicked off last Friday, the sun came out with a vengeance, turning matches into sweatbaths and slowing the pace of play in the second half. The Netherlands tore into Serbia and Montenegro in the opening 20 minutes of their 1-0 victory in Leipzig on Sunday, but with the match kicking off at 3:00 pm, the temperature topped 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit).

Dutch goalscorer Arjen Robben admitted that as the mercury went up, the tempo of the game went down. "I think it was the conditions. It was hot, hot, hot. In those conditions you just have to control yourself and keep the ball sometimes," Robben said. Even teams from countries where extreme heat is commonplace are finding the going tough.

Australia's players had to sit in ice baths and wear special tights to get rid of the buildup of lactic acid after their historic come-from-behind victory over Japan. The thermometer mercury topped 30 degrees in Kaiserslautern for that game on Monday, which was another 3:00 pm kickoff. "It was hard work on the pitch. I think the average everyone lost was two to three kilograms, which is plenty," said defender Lucas Neill. Coaches revealed they had been working closely on the heat issue with experts at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra before coming to Germany.

"We've done a lot of research and a lot of work on recovery and our boys have recovered fantastically," assistant coach Graham Arnold said. Hot conditions are nothing new at World Cups, especially when they take place in the European summertime, but the speed of modern football means it takes a greater toll, experts say. 

Hot conditions means players perspire more and are therefore at an increased risk of dehydration, so it is essential they take on liquids as often as possible. Which is why England players were furious when Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez tried to prevent them taking swigs from bottles on the sideline as the temperature hit 30 degrees Celsius when they beat Paraguay in Frankfurt on Saturday.

FIFA have said since that they will increase the amount of water available to players during matches. But just as coaches were beginning to pay as much attention to kickoff times as to the opposition's lineup, nature was set to play a hand. Rain was forecast in the western city of Dortmund on Wednesday for Germany's second match, against Poland, and thunderstorms were expected to creep eastwards in the days to come.