After a rather calm and moderately warm start to the World Cup, the French team is preparing to have a much less pleasant time this Saturday in terms of the weather. Traveling to Philadelphia to play their round of 16 match against Paraguay (11 p.m.), the Blues expect to play in the shade in temperatures above 36°C. But the meeting could also be postponed by a few minutes or a few hours due to storm warnings.
Kylian Mbappé and his teammates have already experienced an eventful weather episode on June 22 while they faced Iraq in the group stage. Lightning and heavy rain prompted officials to stop the match before it resumed. In total, the Blues took almost four hours (3h48) to win the game against the Iraqis (3-0), making history with what became the longest match in the history of the World Cup.
This Saturday, new extremely difficult conditions are expected, with for example a humidity level of 40% under a blazing sun. According to the latest weather reports broadcast by the North American media, a depression is expected to hit Philadelphia in the afternoon, with a very high risk of thunderstorms.
Paraguay-France, same weather scenario as France-Iraq?
The regulations put in place in the event of bad weather are very strict during this World Cup in the United States. If lightning strikes less than 13 km from the stadium where a match is taking place, the match is automatically interrupted. A thirty-minute countdown is then started. And if a new lightning strike is detected again, this countdown starts from zero, delaying the resumption of the match.
Uncertainty therefore remains around the smooth holding of this Paraguay-France. A postponement, or at least a shift, cannot be ruled out as it stands. Hazards that the Blues will have to deal with, they who are aiming for nothing other than a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
