Players and fans at the Club World Cup are coping with high temperatures as a heat wave hits US

Substitutes who watch from the locker room, abandoned practice sessions and sweat-soaked jerseys. A heat wave hitting a wide swath of the country is taking a toll on players at the FIFA Club World Cup.

The grueling conditions could also be a preview of what's to come next summer when the United States, Canada and Mexico host soccer's premier event, the 2026 World Cup.

"It’s impossible, it’s terribly hot. My toes were sore, even my toenails were hurting, I couldn’t stop or start. In the end, it’s incredible, but since it’s the same for everyone, there’s no excuse," Atlético’s Marcos Llorente said following a match against Paris Saint-Germain.

A “heat dome” of high pressure has settled in over the central and eastern United States, sending temperatures soaring into the 90s in Fahrenheit and above in many areas.

That's rough on both Club World Cup players and fans, who can potentially experience dehydration and cramps, or more serious conditions like heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

“In Europe it’s more of a dry heat and this is more of a humid heat. I think it’s going to hit them twice as hard," fan Tyler Fernando said before Bayern Munich's match against Benfica on Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the temperature was 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 Celsius) at game time.

Those at the Auckland City match against Boca Juniors in Nashville on Tuesday braved temperatures in the upper 90s. Male spectators went shirtless and fans sought sections where there was shade.

Heat is of particular concern during big tournaments like the Club World Cup because the players don’t have much time off to recover between games. And in the group stages, matches are usually staggered each day, meaning some teams play in the midday sun.

Chelsea cut short a practice session in Philadelphia, where temperatures reached the 90s.

"I always try to avoid excuse, I always try to be honest. It’s not about excuses, it’s about reality. It’s an excuse when it’s not hot, and we say it’s hot. That’s an excuse. But if it’s hot, it’s hot. But we are here, and we’re trying to do our best,” Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said.

During a match between Borussia Dortmund and the Mamelodi Sundowns, Dortmond posted on social media: “Our subs watched the first half from inside the locker room to avoid the blazing sun at TQL Stadium — never seen that before, but in this heat, it absolutely makes sense.”

“We always think about how we can help the team, how we can minimize a negative influence. And it was just very, very hot. We had cooling sticks in order to cool the players down. We had them waiting in the dressing room with the air conditioning,” Dortmond coach Niko Kovac said through an interpreter. “This was very important for all of us. It’s not only about tactics, but it’s also about minimizing the load, minimizing the stress. The stress is already high enough."

FIFA guidelines mandate breaks when the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature — a composite of factors including temperature and humidity — reaches 89.6 degrees. The breaks usually occur around the 30th and 75th minutes.

Cooling breaks were initially used at the 2008 Olympic final between Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Nigeria at Beijing's National Stadium, where the on-field temperature reached 107 degrees.

But at the time, such breaks were rare. They became more commonplace following the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where a Brazilian labor court ordered hydration breaks when the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature reached 89.6 degrees.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue went to social media to urge Club World Cup fans to exercise caution in the heat before Inter Miami's match against Palmeiras on Monday night, and Chelsea posted “heat mitigation” guidelines on its official website before the Blues' match against Esperance on Tuesday.

It's not just high temperatures that can impact summer tournaments: Five Club World Cup matches have been delayed by thunderstorms.

The climate is going to be an increasing issue for FIFA as global temperatures rise. Sixteen cities will host World Cup games next year. Five of the stadiums that will be used have roofs to provide some sun protection.

At Mexico's venues, Mexico City and Guadalajara could be impacted by the summer’s hurricane season, and in Monterrey, summer temperatures average in the 90s.

After the the 2026 World Cup, the 2030 edition will be held in Morocco, Spain, and Portugal. And the problem isn't just on the men's side: The 2027 Women's World Cup is set to be played in Brazil.

Peter Crisp from Fossil Free Football said: “Scheduling matches in no-shade stadiums in the middle of the day and promoting oil-dependent sponsors shows FIFA is dangerously out of touch with the threat extreme heat poses to its major summer tournaments”

Club World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-club-world-cup

Benfica players take a cooling break during the Club World Cup Group C soccer match between Benfica and Bayern Munich in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Bayern players take a cooling break during the Club World Cup Group C soccer match between Benfica and Bayern Munich in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Bayern Munich's Sacha Boey poors water on his face during the Club World Cup Group C soccer match between Benfica and Bayern Munich in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Auckland City's Gerard Garriga refreshes himself during the Club World Cup Group C soccer match between Auckland City and Boca Juniors in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Johnnie Izquierdo)

Auckland City's Gerard Garriga cools off under the sprinklers during a water break in the Club World Cup Group C soccer match between Auckland City and Boca Juniors in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has spent his campaign for Ohio governor focused on November's general election and finally gets the chance Tuesday to put the long primary season behind him, as the Trump-endorsed biotech entrepreneur positions for an expensive run against Dr. Amy Acton, the former state health director.

Contests on the ballots also will set the stage for Ohio's third competitive U.S. Senate race in the last four years, as well as a handful of U.S. House races that are expected to be closely fought in the fall.

Every statewide executive office is open this year due to term limits, but the governor's race has captured the bulk of the attention so far.

Ramaswamy, a 2024 GOP primary presidential candidate, swept onto the state's political scene early last year as a mad shuffle was taking place. Then-Sen. JD Vance was ascending to the vice presidency and front-running gubernatorial candidate Jon Husted was being appointed to replace him in Washington.

That opened a window of opportunity at the top of Republicans' statewide ticket.

Though he is a newcomer in state politics, Ramaswamy's national profile, tech industry connections and proximity to Trump landed him the Ohio Republican Party's endorsement. With it, he cleared a prospective field that included the sitting state attorney general, state treasurer and lieutenant governor.

But Democrats also saw opportunity with the open governors seat, even as the state, a former bellwether, has tipped convincingly toward Republicans during the Trump era. The president’s lagging approval ratings on the economy and dissatisfaction over the war in Iran are contributing to a competitive contest.

Acton, a physician and public health expert, emerged as their choice. She became a household name across Ohio in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as she stood alongside Republican Gov. Mike DeWine during daily coronavirus broadcasts. Her comforting presence during the crisis made her a beloved figure with many Ohioans.

But the administration's aggressive actions — including shuttering businesses, closing schools and canceling an election — also earned Acton plenty of enemies and made her the occasional target of people upset about pandemic policies, with some armed protesters showing up outside her home.

Ramaswamy's campaign has sought to capitalize on the lingering anger over pandemic restrictions with attacks on Acton's role early in the crisis. Ramaswamy was advising the lieutenant governor at the time — Husted — on virus-related economic issues and he founded a company that profited off its role developing vaccines.

Acton is unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Ramaswamy faces a long-shot challenge from Casey Putsch. The engineer and car designer is a YouTube provocateur who has trolled Ramaswamy incessantly over his Indian heritage and Hindu faith and painted him as an out-of-touch billionaire “tech bro.”

Husted is unopposed in the GOP primary for Senate, a special election to fill the remainder of the six-year Senate term Vance won in 2022. Husted's likely opponent will be Democrat Sherrod Brown, a former three-term senator who lost a reelection bid against Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024, a contest where spending hit $500 million. Brown faces a minor primary challenge from first-time candidate Ron Kincaid.

Early voting began April 7 under some new election laws, including citizenship checks and elimination of the four-day grace period for receiving mailed ballots. There have been no reports so far of any widespread problems for voters related to the changes.

In the wake of a new round of redistricting that slightly favored Republicans, the state also has numerous partisan congressional primaries.

The most heated GOP primary is in the Toledo area’s 9th District for the chance to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in Congress.

The five-way contest includes former state Rep. Derek Merrin, whom Kaptur defeated by less than a percentage point in 2024, as well as an Air National Guard veteran, a healthcare industry worker, a sitting state representative and the former deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Madison Sheahan.

In Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman's Cincinnati-area district, which his party considers a “must-hold,” the three-way Republican primary includes Eric Conroy, a CIA and Air Force veteran who has been endorsed by Trump, Vance and Moreno.

Landsman also faces a primary challenge from Damon Lynch IV, the grandson of a prominent civil rights leader. Lynch has criticized Landsman for his initial vote against a war powers resolution on the war in Iran, which Landsman later followed up with a favorable vote.

In the Akron area's 13th District, five Republicans including business owner Neil Patel, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate, are vying for the opportunity to face Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes.

As a Trump-backed national effort to remake congressional maps in Republicans' favor was underway, Ohio Democrats took a could-have-been-worse approach and passed the map they were given unanimously.

Now party candidates are crowding congressional primaries across the state for the chance to take on sitting Republican representatives, who hold 10 of Ohio's 15 seats.

The newly redrawn 7th District in the Cleveland area has attracted eight Democrats hoping to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Max Miller, a former senior Trump adviser, in November. Among them is former Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2014.

In northeast Ohio's 14th District, former state Supreme Court Justice William O'Neill is among three Democrats seeking to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce. Joyce also has two primary challengers.

Meanwhile six Democrats are on the ballot in the Dayton-area 10th District of Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Turner. There are seven in GOP U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli's 6th District along the Ohio River and five in the 5th District of Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Latta.

Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown speaks during a campaign event ahead of primary elections at the Paladin Brewery in Austintown, Ohio, Thursday, April, 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

FILE - Amy Acton, Democratic candidate for Governor of Ohio, gestures as she speaks with a reporter in Columbus, Ohio April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks to supporters before the Warren County Republicans Lincoln Day Dinner at the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)