Coach Thomas Tuchel says he’ll consider leaving England subs in locker room in case of rising temperature during World Cup

The next FIFA World Cup which is scheduled for 2026, returns to the same country i.e. the USA with the conditions expected to remain the same as during the Club World Cup in June-July this year.

England will know their fate on which group they'll be in during the World Cup draw on Friday.

Earlier this year, football fans were treated to an unusual image where the Borussia Dortmund bench watched the first half of their match against South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns from inside the locker room. This was due to a severe heatwave affecting the United States with the temperature that afternoon touching 36 degree Celsius (with a real feel of 39).

The next FIFA World Cup which is scheduled for 2026, returns to the same country i.e. the USA with the conditions expected to remain the same as during the Club World Cup in June-July this year. England coach Thomas Tuchel recently opened up about if he would consider leaving his subs in the dressing room in case of the heat.

“If this is what helps us later in the match when they come on, we have to consider this as a possibility. 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. 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,” Tuchel said in an interaction with BBC Sport.

Thomas Tuchel says he would consider having substitutes stay in the dressing room due to hot temperatures at the 2026 World Cup 👥🥵🌡️ pic.twitter.com/oggBAxiQVO

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 4, 2025

England will know their fate on which group they’ll be in during the World Cup draw on Friday. FIFA has said the top four teams in the rankings — Spain, Argentina, France and England — will avoid each other until the semifinals if they finish first in their first-round groups.

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The world’s top 11-ranked teams have all qualified, with No. 12 Italy among 22 nations competing in playoffs for the final six berths to be decided March 31. Led by captain Lionel Messi, who turns 39 during the tournament, Argentina seeks to become the first nation to win consecutive World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Messi will look to extend his record of 26 games played and enters with 13 career goals, three shy of Miroslav Klose’s record.

Games will be played at 11 NFL stadiums along with three in Mexico and two in Canada, where construction is underway to add 17,000 temporary seats to BMO Field, raising capacity to around 45,000. Attendance will top the record 3.59 million in 1994.