Sundaymail Editor
American players and their coach have admitted that their decision to play in -2F weather in Minnesota was a strategic choice while a Honduran player called for an investigation after Honduras lost 3-0 in Wednesday’s Word Cup qualifier match.
USA coach Gregg Berhalter told the Star Tribune that playing in the cold was a common tactic to help the U.S. team, which is based in Chicago and regularly trains in Canada, gain a homefield advantage against Central and South American teams.
‘They’re all coming from the equator, and it’s going to be really difficult for them to deal with these conditions,’ he said. ‘They’re going to take a couple of breaths and it’s going to hit them like it never hit them before.’
The Honduran national team returned home Thursday afternoon and complained about the U.S. team’s decision to schedule the game in freezing temperatures.
‘There are conditions in which soccer cannot be played, which was yesterday,’ the defender Franklin Flores told Honduran media outlet Diez outside Mesa International Airport in San Pedro Sula. ‘The truth is that you have to take action because that is unfair.’
U.S. defender Walker Zimmerman welcomed the rather-than-normal playing conditions prior to stepping on the pitch.
‘You know what? I want it to be freezing,’ Zimmerman. ‘I want it to be cold. I want the snow. I want to be part of something so iconic that I saw and really remember growing up. That’s exciting to me. I think the guys are really ready to embrace it.’
But the Hondurans were furious that the team was being forced to play in dangerous cold conditions.
Honduras head coach Hernan Dario Gomez said: ‘It’s inconceivable that a power in every sense would bring you here to play a game and get a result. The game hasn’t started, but I can’t wait for it to end. Because it’s not for enjoying, it’s for suffering.’
And suffer the players did, with two forced off at half-time with hypothermia and others requiring IV drips to recover in wind chill of -8F at kick-off, making it the coldest U.S. home game in the team’s history. It was enough to freeze a wet t-shirt pitchside on TV coverage and players wore protective clothing.
On the eve of the game, where temperatures were at 3F, the Honduras team was seen going to practice without any hats or heavy coats on, and they appeared just as ill-equipped hours before the game, with only a few players seen wearing hats in the frigid temperatures.
It is not known why the team did not appear prepared for the cold. The team did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Honduras and the US have played 28 games together since 1965, with the Central American team winning 20 of the games. Three were draws.
As the hosts, the US were able to choose the stadium for the game and picked Minnesota’s Allianz Field – a new venue opened just three years ago, but facing sub-zero temperatures in the Midwest winter.
‘When I got to the locker room, I wanted that game to end because I saw the boys very badly, one says why,’ Gómez told a bevy of reporters Thursday in San Pedro Sula. ‘Soccer is not to suffer in that way.’
Said defender Wisdom Quayé: ‘What happened is over, now keep your head up and work with the team. Once you get the first positive result, things will change, everything will be different when you obtain that.’
U.S. Soccer had chosen Minnesota not only to limit the team’s travel time – having previously played in Columbus, Ohio and Ontario, Canada – but also to secure an advantage.
Canada had used the same tactic in November to beat Mexico, and the U.S. famously did the same in the March 2013 ‘Snowclassico,’ where the U.S. beat Mexico 1-0 in Denver, Colorado, where players celebrated in the snow.
However, both those games were played at 29F, much warmer than the -2F in the game against Honduras. The players for the Central American country have enjoyed 85F weather this week.
‘Obviously the [U.S. Soccer] federation tried to pick the best places for us to have an advantage over our opponent,’ U.S. midfielder Weston McKennie, told the Tribune. ‘Whether that’s the weather, whether that’s the fan base, whether that’s a lot of things. Our players are more used to playing in colder weather than Honduran players.’
Zimmerman – who netted the second goal of the night – believed Honduras was simply not up for the game in the freezing temperatures and it helped them take control of the game.
‘I don’t think they wanted any part of that tonight,’ he said. ‘You could just tell coming out for warm ups, their starting 11 not coming out right after the half.
Gomez led the protests – even before the game – slamming the decision to host the game in Minnesota. He said that it was ‘not normal’ that his players, used to temperatures reaching 86F in their country this week, should have to play in a different location.
But there was no chance of the game being called off – as the USA went cruised into a 2-0 lead at the break. Gomez then had to withdraw goalkeeper Luis Lopez and forward Romell Quioto, both understood to be suffering with hypothermia.
Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic added a third to compound Honduras’ woes – but the real pain that was inflicted was in the dressing room at full time, with some members of Gomez’ side needing an IV drip. It prompted a furious response from the coach.
‘Soccer shouldn’t be endured this way. I’ve got all my players getting treatment, some players getting an IV,’ he vented.
But USA coach Berhalter defended the decision to play the game in Minnesota – pointing out that his own side have travelled to sweltering countries and have suffered various issues from the heat.
‘When we go down to those countries and it’s 90 degrees and 90 per cent dew point and it’s unbearable humidity and guys are getting dehydrated and cramping up and getting heat exhaustion, that’s the nature of our competition,’ he said.
‘When we schedule this game in this location, you have to go by average temperatures, daily average temperatures, and it was the best guess.
‘We want to minimize travel. We knew we’re gonna be playing in cold weather in two of the games and we figured to do it in the third game as well, instead of switching climates.
‘The cold spell came through and it’s something we can’t control but all we can do once that happens is try to mitigate the risk by having warm weather gear and going out there and competing and we did that.’
Zimmerman said that felt felt the team ‘were in really good form and in control of the game.’
As he reveled in the cheer of the crowd following the game, Zimmerman added: ‘We said in the locker room before the game that it was going to be memorable, that it was going to be iconic, but not because of the weather, but because of our intensity, our motivation to play well. Guys came out and we really handed it to them. I’m so proud of the group.’
But other US players admitted they had struggled in the bitingly cold conditions, with forward Tim Weah joking he would ‘retire’ if he had to play in the same weather again, posting a meme of a frozen man.
Over 3,600 flights within the US are set to be canceled as the country deals with snow, sleet and freezing rain from a powerful winter storm that has closed schools and led multiple governors to declare states of emergency.
On Wednesday, there were nearly 3,500 delays and 2,365 cancellations across the country, with airports in the Midwest being hit particularly hard.
The governors of Kentucky and Missouri have declared a state of emergency, while Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster declaration. On Wednesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul directed state agencies to prepare emergency plans before the storm hits the state on Thursday.
And keeper Matt Turner – who is set to sign for Arsenal – posted the same meme, writing: ‘mood’.
As he walked off the field at the end of the game, Turner simply said, ‘My boogers are frozen.’
Although FIFA has specific guidance on extreme heat, calling on teams to get cooling breaks when playing in at nearly 90F weather, it has no strict regulations on extreme cold.
FIFPRO, the international organization that represents more than 65,000 soccer players around the world, recommends that training and matches be cancelled when temperatures reach 5F. – Daily Mail
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