The U.S. women’s national team will play their Olympic farewell friendly against Costa Rica in record heat in Washington D.C.
Temperatures in the nation’s capital on Tuesday are expected to peak at 101F (38C) during the day, with 42 percent humidity and a UV index of 10 out of 11. The team also just defeated Mexico 1-0 in an exceptionally hot and humid game in the 90F heat of Harrison, New Jersey.
Head coach Emma Hayes said the grueling conditions expected at Audi Field tonight were all “added value” for her side.
“It’s perfect preparation for Marseille,” she said, referencing the southern French city where the team will play their second and third (of three) Olympic group-stage games against Germany and Australia respectively. “It’s pretty hot down there, so this is a great opportunity for us to experience what we’re going to face.”
Although capital Paris, in northern France, is hosting the Games and staging many of the events, matches in the men’s and women’s soccer tournaments are being played all across the country.
In addition to those two dates in Marseille, the USWNT plays Zambia in Nice, also on France’s Mediterranean coast, in the group opener on July 25. That region is expected to be relatively hot and humid during the tournament, which is occurring during what is historically the hottest period of the year with a usual heat index in the mid-to-high 80s. However, temperatures in the region are expected to peak in the 90s in late July.
Although kickoff against Costa Rica is at 7:30pm local time, the heat index is still expected to be brutal, especially for the first half of the game, as sunset is not until 8:30pm when temperatures should begin to drop into the 80s and the National Weather’s Service’s excessive heat warning is expected to end. Still, the “very warm and humid” conditions may persist throughout the night. U.S. Soccer has not yet considered delaying the kickoff time.
Hayes’ comment about acclimatizing, particularly in France, is certainly relevant. During the 2019 Women’s World Cup, hosted in France, temperatures soared as high as 113F, although most of the country experienced heat in the 90s during that year’s June heat wave. France has been experiencing hotter-than-average summers recently, including record heatwaves in 2022 and 2023, the second and fourth-hottest summers in French history so far.
These games and upcoming concerns about playing in overbearing heat in France are also acute reminders that with climate change, outdoor sports will be played in more extreme conditions. In July 2022, as the USWNT played through World Cup qualifying in Mexico, host city Monterrey was experiencing an extreme drought where some neighborhoods went without water for 75 days.
In the weekend friendly against Mexico, the game had built-in hydration breaks for both teams, something which is becoming increasingly common in soccer. In the National Women’s Soccer League, the top division of the sport in the U.S., hydration breaks are required whenever there is a wet bulb globe temperature — a measurement which takes into account temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover — of at least 82, while USSF recommends hydration breaks at a wet bulb globe reading of 89.6.
While answering questions from reporters the day before the game, defender Emily Sonnett asked what the heat index would be. “It’s bad,” was one reply.
USWNT players will get a feel of the potential environment at the Olympics in France during Tuesday’s game (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
With a UV index of 10, the game will be a test for players and fans alike. The National Weather Service warns that a 10 indicates a “very high risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure”. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends the use of at least SPF 30 sunscreen beginning when the UV index reaches three.
Advice on when to apply sunscreen varies. The American Academy of Dermatology Association recommends applying it 15 minutes before going outdoors and thereafter every two hours or after sweating, while dermatologists from the American Medical Association say physical sunscreen (as opposed to chemical sunscreen) is immediately effective once applied to the skin.
Midfielder Rose Lavelle gave advice on how to avoid getting sunscreen drips in her eyes from sweating after the game on Saturday: “The key is you have to apply, like, an hour before, so it soaks in a little better. But then honestly, sometimes on the hot days, it’s a lost cause and it’s just going to happen.”
(Top photo: Howard Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
