Teams that will participate in next year's World Cup were able to find out their opponents on Friday. However, in this tournament, almost all matches at the three Mexican stadiums are in the evening. This was convenient for television viewers in Europe, but it resulted in sweltering conditions in places like the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. More than three decades later, that stadium will not be used in the 2026 World Cup. With five afternoon matches on the schedule, SoFi is a venue where temperatures could rise. The venues in Mexico — Estadio Azteca in the capital, Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, and Estadio BBVA in Monterrey — could also be a cause for concern due to the heat. The Canadian team will debut in Toronto against the winner of a European playoff, and that match is at 3 p.m., so the conditions could be quite warm. "We will make sure our players are fit," said Marsch. "We will make sure they adapt to what the climate could be." Heat has long been an issue at World Cups. Soccer fans in the U.S. are very aware of how oppressive the conditions can be at the Azteca, in terms of both temperature and altitude, for visiting teams. Saturday was for figuring out other logistical aspects: the venues and kick-off times for the matches. The full schedule for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada was revealed a day after the draw divided the 48 teams into a dozen groups of four for the preliminary round. One can also estimate how much influence the heat will have as a factor. Even Canada's coach, Jesse Marsch, whose team will be based in Toronto and Vancouver while playing in Group B, is also factoring in the climate. The tournament in Qatar in 2022 was held at the end of the year for this reason. In 1994, the last time the U.S. hosted a World Cup, the matches were held primarily during the day. The same goes for the stadiums that will be used in Houston and Atlanta. The SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams in Inglewood, California, has a roof, but air from the outside can get in. Now, each team knows how much distance they will travel while playing their first—and possibly only—three matches. Instead, the matches in the Dallas area will be held in Arlington, Texas, at the AT&T Stadium. And the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys has a retractable roof.
