How Footballers Survive the World Cup

A footballer can miss a World Cup due to poor ball control, an injury, a missed penalty... or because their body overheated in the 70th minute. This detail, invisible to spectators, has become one of the major obsessions of the current tournament. It's no longer enough to simply eat well or drink water. It's essential to measure, anticipate, and cool down before the body starts to fail.

Temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius in Philadelphia for the France vs. Paraguay match. 44 degrees during Brazil's training sessions in New Jersey. And a "final" scheduled for 3:00 PM in an open-air stadium, where the thermometer could once again touch 40 degrees. Surviving the heat has become a primary mission for many national teams. This is where José Blesa, a sports nutritionist specializing in elite football, comes in. During this World Cup, he has been working with several international players from various teams, including Enzo Fernández. His work begins long before the first whistle and ends long after the match concludes. "The goal is no longer just to feed the footballer, but to ensure they start the match with maximum energy reserves, maintain their performance throughout the ninety minutes, and fully recover before the next fixture."

The Body on the Brink and the Battle Against the Heat
It's no coincidence that more and more specialists are traveling with the big stars, especially at this World Cup. High temperatures and humidity have forced a change in routines that once seemed unshakeable. Heat not only reduces a footballer's physical capacity but also affects decision-making, technical precision, and the ability to repeat explosive efforts. Hydration breaks were one of the most debated measures of this tournament. However, a glance at the thermometer in some host cities is enough to understand their necessity. So, the question is clear: how does a footballer prepare to survive the World Cup?

Heat Stress
"One of the biggest challenges of this World Cup is heat stress. When the body performs intense exercise in hot and humid conditions, its ability to eliminate the heat generated by the muscles significantly decreases. Body temperature rises, heart rate accelerates, the perception of effort is greater, and progressive losses in physical and cognitive performance begin to appear," explains José Blesa to "Marca," drawing on his experience as head of nutrition for teams like Al-Nassr, FC Basel, and CSKA Moscow.

Therefore, Blesa explains, preparation doesn't start on match day. It begins several days earlier with acclimatization processes to help the body better cope with the heat. "A large part of our job is to prevent the player from ever reaching that situation."

Every Footballer Plays a Different Game
There's a common scene during matches: all players gather to drink water during hydration breaks. What isn't visible is that not everyone drinks the same thing. Elite football has long discarded the idea that hydration simply means drinking water. Today, everything is personalized. "While some players might lose just over a liter of sweat per hour, others significantly exceed three liters under the same environmental conditions," Blesa reveals, highlighting a key fact.

To know exactly what each player needs, monitoring begins during the week. Parameters are analyzed through saliva with devices like "MX3," and more recently, through smart systems capable of assessing hydration status via urine during urination itself. This is done with new smart toilets from the Spanish company "Kamleon," which automatically analyze urine using optical sensors and artificial intelligence, without the need for test strips or sample processing.

"With this data, we personalize the intake of fluids and electrolytes. The goal is for the footballer to start the match fully hydrated, without feeling heavy, and with an appropriate sodium balance." Behind a simple bottle lie hours of measurements and individual data. And while years ago, warming up merely involved raising body temperature, this World Cup has completely changed that idea. "We don't wait for the player to feel the heat to act; we try to reduce the thermal load even before the match begins."

Methods used include almost ice-cold drinks, slushies, cooling vests, cold towels, and air-conditioned zones.

Everything is planned so that the footballer starts the match with the greatest possible reserve of strength before the heat begins to take its toll. This strategy continues during the match itself. Hydration breaks no longer serve only for drinking water. "They represent a real intervention to improve performance," an expert explains regarding the importance of breaks during a World Cup.

"Recovery doesn't start the next day. It begins with the final whistle." Within minutes, it's necessary to replenish fluids, recharge glycogen stores, provide high-quality proteins, and initiate a regeneration process that will last only a few hours before the next training session or travel.

No Miracle Supplements Exist
From this point on, other factors come into play, gaining increasing importance in elite football: sleep, the effect of jet lag, and continuous monitoring through devices like "WHOOP" or the "Oura" ring, which measure the quality of rest and recovery. Nutritional supplements also appear here, although nutritionist Blesa insists on debunking one of the biggest myths in modern sports. "There are no miracle supplements. Every intervention responds to a specific need and an individual assessment of the footballer."

Caffeine to improve concentration and reaction time, creatine to maintain the ability for repeated explosive efforts, nitrates from beetroot concentrate, or electrolyte drinks are part of the arsenal, but only when they fit into a much broader strategy.

Much More Than Menu Planning
There's a perception that a nutritionist is the person who decides what a footballer can and cannot eat. During a World Cup, the reality is light-years away from that idea. "My job isn't just about creating menus. It involves coordinating flights, minimizing the effects of jet lag, organizing supplement intake, daily hydration monitoring, preparing cooling protocols, adapting meals to training schedules, and optimizing every recovery process." It's quiet work, far from the spotlight.

JOEL DEL RIO, "Marca"