France-Paraguay will be a scorcher in Philly

PHILADELPHIA (AP):

For the complainers that hydration breaks have watered down the pace of play at the World Cup, consider the steamy, sticky, downright miserable heatwave colliding with the France-Paraguay knockout game today.

With temperatures expected to nudge past 100 degrees F (38 C) at the 5 p.m. kickoff, maybe FIFA should, instead, consider adding multiple hydration breaks in each half.

It’s going to be hot in Philly.

Even in the summer, the closest the city usually gets to 100 is on the radar gun when Phillies baseball closer Jhoan Duran takes the mound.

Not this July, when AC – air conditioning – has been more a must than a traditional trip outdoors down to the shore.

Philadelphia was set to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday on July 4 weekend with a stacked calendar but instead, events ranging from a Queen Latifah concert to a Semiquincentennial parade were cancelled and a Liberty Medal ceremony honouring Pope Leo XIV was moved indoors.

On Saturday, Kylian Mbappé of France will go from one of the hottest players in the World Cup – in production – to one of the hottest players in the tournament – in core temperature.

And the players say?

So what.

These are professional athletes at the highest level with the ultimate prize in their sport at stake and even football players – who never met an offside call they won’t bellyache over – aren’t making much of a fuss about the sunny skies and the sultry Saturday expected at Lincoln Financial Field.

“We will both experience the same conditions,” France midfielder Désiré Doué said Friday.

As for Paraguay and coach Gustavo Alfaro: “The heat will affect both teams.”

So scratch the heat as a disadvantage for either team.

The true test for Paraguay will be trying to slow Mbappé as he tries to lead France to a third straight World Cup final.

Thriving on a hot, humid afternoon, Mbappé scored his 17th and 18th career World Cup goals in a 3-0 rout of Sweden, moving one back of Lionel Messi’s record of 19. With six in the tournament, Mbappé tied the Argentina star in the race for the Golden Boot.

Asked as he came off the field when temperatures hit (only) 90 degrees (33 C) if he was already looking forward to facing Paraguay, Mbappé quipped, “I’m looking forward to the changing room and the AC.”

HEAT IS ON FRANCE TO ADVANCE

Paraguay have little reason to complain and are just happy to play in the knockout round.

When Paraguay beat Germany 4-3 on penalties Monday to earn the biggest upset of this World Cup it was a major triumph for the landlocked South American country of seven million people that is surrounded by football giants like Argentina and Brazil.

Toppling France would stand as an even greater sports miracle.

Les Bleus are 4-0 in the tournament, outscoring opponents 13-2. One of those wins came already in Philadelphia when Mbappé scored twice, and France played through the tournament’s first rain delay to beat Iraq 3-0.

France have overtaken Argentina for No. 1 in FIFA’s rankings. Their four wins have come against teams currently ranked 18th (Senegal), 63rd (Iraq), 21st (Norway), and 37th (Sweden). Paraguay are 34th.