The climate is getting hotter, and sports events are no exception. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled in a hot region, which presents a huge challenge for organizers and athletes. Extreme heat can have a substantial effect on athletes’ performance and can also increase the risk of bad performance and injury. As the USMNT is preparing to meet its opponents at home, a sweltering summer seems like a turning point.

The team’s new manager, Mauricio Pochettino, understands the positive and negative effects of weather on players. In addition to being ready, Pochettino is coming up with plans to ensure that his players can take advantage of the surface.

In a recent interview with The Overlap US, Pochettino talked about the need for adaptability in players. “Yes, it’s going to be a challenge also in a tactical point of view because we need to adapt and be flexible with the characteristics we are going to find. And, of course, for the World Cup, we may play in 40-degree weather,” he added. The USA is going to play in Los Angeles and San Francisco and Pochettino stated, “we need to be careful.“

Despite the hot temperatures, Pochettino seems quite confident in his team’s ability to adapt. “I think the main idea is we are not going to change too much,” he explained. “We need to be protagonists, and we need to have the ball—that’s always what we translate to our team.

Pochettino’s tactical approach also involves a high-pressure style. “When you don’t have plan B, you need to be aggressive to recover as soon as possible,” he stated.

Although the players at Chelsea were sad to see him depart, the position in the USA provides an ideal opportunity for him to use his skills in a project that will hopefully make him as happy as he was at Espanyol, Southampton, and Tottenham, and where he can help the club advance.

Why do we continue having soccer events in the summer?

One big reason is television and sponsorships. Changing the timing of the event to the spring or the fall means diluting viewers, and thus advertiser dollars, among soccer and football. That all creates financial pressure to keep these events during warm weather months — but it also makes the games more dangerous and expensive, increasing the costs for organizers to invest in cooling and preventing heat illnesses.

There are also ways that athletes can protect themselves. “​​The best way to prepare for competition in the heat is to train in the heat.” But it’s a slow process, requiring athletes to begin their heat exposures two weeks before competitions start.

USMNT fans can expect fast, attacking soccer with Pochettino, as he said in joining the press conference, “We are flexible. We’re a coaching staff that wants to play good football (soccer). To convince our fans to join us, the aesthetic is important. We want to play nice football, attacking football.”

Do you think USMNT will have a leveling-up era under Poch? Sound off in the comments below.