Enzo Fernandez has revealed he came very close to fainting on the pitch during Chelsea’s last Club World Cup game due to the extreme heat.
Chelsea have reached the final of the revamped competition where they will take on Champions League holders PSG in New Jersey on Sunday.
The tournament has been in the USA over the past month and has received a mixed reception from fans, players and teams.
One of the biggest criticisms has been the adverse weather conditions, with several games suspended due to lightning strikes near stadiums, while players have struggled to deal with the extremely high temperatures in America.
Chelsea’s round-of-16 win over Benfica was halted for over two hours, much to the anger of head coach Enzo Maresca.
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Temperatures in New York, which is very close to the MetLife stadium, the venue for the Club World Cup final venue, recently reached a record 39C.
Speaking to reporters on Friday ahead of the final, Fernandez revealed the humidity had nearly got to him during the semi-final victory over Fluminense last Tuesday: ‘The truth is the heat is incredible.
‘The other day I got a little dizzy in the game. I had to throw myself to the ground because I was really dizzy.
‘The truth is, playing in that temperature is very dangerous.
‘It’s very dangerous and, obviously, for the spectacle, for the people who come to enjoy the stadium, and for the people who watch at home, the speed of the game isn’t the same. Everything feels very slow.’
With the USA set to co-host next year’s country World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada, there have been calls for FIFA to make necessary changes in order to prevent a repeat of these issues.
One suggestion has been to move the kick-off of matches to cooler parts of the day and this idea seems to have the approval of Fernandez.
‘We hope they change the schedule next year so that it’s a spectacle and football continues to be enjoyable and attractive,’ the Argentina midfielder added.
Blues teammate Levi Colwill also voiced his concerns, saying: ‘If you turn the game into a basketball match in this heat, it’s not going to help anyone.
‘You have to control the ball way more, pick the right times to attack and try to score.’
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