England's national football team manager, Thomas Tuchel, has revealed a radical contingency plan for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup: keeping his substitutes in the air-conditioned locker room to protect them from the scorching North American summer heat. This strategy, inspired by scenes from the recent Club World Cup, aims to preserve player energy for crucial late-game impacts.
The Borussia Dortmund Precedent and Extreme Conditions
The idea isn't merely theoretical. Tuchel's consideration stems from a real incident witnessed earlier this year. During the Club World Cup held in the United States in June-July 2025, Germany's Borussia Dortmund took the extreme step of having their bench players watch the first half of a match against South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns from inside the stadium locker room. This decision was forced by a severe heatwave, with temperatures soaring to 36 degrees Celsius and a real-feel of 39 degrees.
The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico, is scheduled for the same summer period, and conditions are expected to be similarly challenging. Tuchel acknowledged he observed other teams employing this tactic during the Club World Cup, planting the seed for his own potential strategy.
Tuchel's Pragmatic Approach to Player Management
In an interview with BBC Sport, the England coach laid out his pragmatic, if reluctant, stance. "If this is what helps us later in the match when they come on, we have to consider this as a possibility," Tuchel stated. He emphasized the clear trade-off between atmosphere and physiology.
"Nobody likes it because I want the players to be out there, to feel the energy and to give us energy from the bench, onto the field," he explained. "But I saw what you mean, I saw teams doing this in the Club World Cup. Hopefully we can avoid it. It’s always better if they can be with us outside." His comments highlight the modern manager's balance between tactical preparation and the well-being of athletes in increasingly demanding environmental conditions.
World Cup Context: The Draw, Contenders, and Scale
Tuchel's remarks come just before a pivotal moment for England: the World Cup final draw on Friday, December 5, 2025. According to FIFA's seeding, the top four ranked teams—Spain, Argentina, France, and England—will be kept apart until the semifinals, provided they each top their initial group.
The tournament promises to be a historic spectacle. All of the world's top 11-ranked nations have qualified, with spots for 22 others, including Italy (ranked 12th), to be decided in playoffs concluding on March 31, 2026. Defending champions Argentina, led by the iconic Lionel Messi who will turn 39 during the tournament, will aim to be the first back-to-back winners since Brazil in 1962. Messi also eyes individual history, entering with 13 World Cup goals, just three short of Miroslav Klose's all-time record.
Logistically, the 2026 edition will be the largest ever, with matches across 11 NFL stadiums in the USA, three venues in Mexico, and two in Canada. Significant construction, like adding 17,000 temporary seats to Toronto's BMO Field to reach a 45,000 capacity, is underway to accommodate an expected record-breaking attendance, surpassing the 3.59 million mark set in 1994.
As England prepares to learn their group-stage fate, Tuchel's openness to unconventional methods underscores the multifaceted preparation required to win football's ultimate prize, where managing extreme heat could become as crucial as managing the ball.
