Club World Cup winners team who handles weather best
The German side face Korean outfit Ulsan HD on Wednesday looking to qualify for the last 16 from Group F in Cincinnati, where temperatures are set to reach 34 degrees Celsius.
'I think that this tournament will be decided not by the best team, but the team that can adapt to these weather conditions the best and they will probably win this tournament,' Kovac told reporters at the TQL Stadium.
Dortmund edged South African side Mamelodi Sundowns 4-3 at the same stadium on Saturday, in which their substitutes hid from the sun in the dressing room in the first half, and then under umbrellas pitch-side in the second.
'Our boys are very well taken care of by our doctors and the medical staff,' continued Kovac.
'We took the necessary measures and we try to do everything possible to make the right decisions and to take care of our players.
'We have very cold towels. We put them in ice baths. The boys also need to cool down their legs and their feet in cold water and ice baths.
'During the last match some of the boys watched the match from the dressing room. We didn't want them sitting on the bench in the direct sunlight. We want to keep them in the shade.'
Kovac also said he did not want Dortmund's players to get too cold either.
'We try to decrease the intensity of the air conditioning and the fans because it is very dangerous to go from hot to cold all the time,' he added.
Kovac said winger Jamie Gittens, who has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea, was not available to face Ulsan because he was ill.
'There were so many rumours at the moment but he is actually sick,' said Kovac.
'He felt under the weather for the last couple of days with a clogged nose and a scratchy throat.
'You know, because if you are in the air-conditioned room all the time you get sick, but it's part of the game.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
WUG 2025: Malaysia's 4x100m men's finish last in final
BOCHUM: A risky move by the national men's 4x100 metre (m) quartet did not work out after finishing last in the final of the Rhine-Ruhr World University Games (WUG) 2025 at Lohrheidestadion here, tonight Malaysia time. In the highlight race, which was also the closing event of athletics competition, the national quartet made a change in strategy by bringing in Mohamad Raimi Mustaffa Kamal to team up with Pengiran Aidil Auf Hajam, Mohammad Thaqif Mohammad Hisham and Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi. However, the strategy did not give the expected result after they recorded a time of 40.19 seconds (s), which was slower than the 39.83s recorded in the first round early this morning Malaysia time. For the record, in the national quartet's tactical move, Aliff Iman Mohd Fahimi was to compete in the first round while Mohamad Raimi would be fielded in the final. 'This is one of the tactics we have discussed that will involve some risks, at least to receive the baton at the end of the zone because we know that's the only way how we want to utilise and maximise the ability of each runner. 'So we took the risk but luck was not on our side but we did our best, we have nothing to regret because today we have proven that we are one of the best in the world, we qualified for the final, I'm proud of this team,' said Muhammad Azeem when met after the race. South Korea won gold with a time of 38.50s while the South African selection quartet had to settle for silver (38.80s) and India took home bronze (38.89s). Meanwhile, the national women's 4x400m quartet of Mandy Goh Li, Nurul Aliah Maisarah Nor Azmi, Chelsea Cassiopea Evali Bopulas and Hizillawanty Jamain finished the final in seventh place with a time of 3 minutes 54.88s, thus erasing the season's best of 3:55.21s set in the first round, yesterday. The gold medal went to the home quartet after being the fastest to cross the finish line with a time of 3:29.68s while Poland won silver (3:30.21s) and Canada bronze (3:34.16s). In the women's pole vault final, Nurul Ashikin Abas finished last with a height of 12.70 m. WUG 2025 which began on July 16 ended today with a closing ceremony scheduled to take place at the Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord in Duisburg, early this morning Malaysia time. Overall, the Malaysian contingent collected one silver and one bronze each contributed by swimming champions Khiew Hoe Yean and women's badminton singles Wong Ling Ching. Japan emerged as the overall champion after collecting 34 gold, 21 silver and 24 bronze, followed by China in second place (30,27,17) and the United States in third place (28,27,29) - BERNAMA
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Monfils says Toronto loss marks his final Toronto visit
TORONTO: Gael Monfils said he has played for the last time in Toronto after crashing out of the Masters in Sunday's opening round of the ATP Masters to a Chilean qualifier. The 38-year-old French tennis icon missed out on four match points to exit 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3) to number 142 Tomas Barrios Vera, who won the first Masters match of his career and ended a seven-match loss streak at the ATP level. Monfils symbolically touched the baseline as he walked off a loser after nearly three hours in torrid summer temperatures approaching 35 Celsius. "There's no explanation, it's the last one," he said. "It will be two years to play (again) in Toronto, so pretty much I won't be able to play it. Obviously I think the next one is too old for me, so I think it was the last time I'll play here." He added: "I actually thought at the end, and I was like, 'Well, I think it's, unfortunately, but the last time I think I would play here.'" Monfils had little good to say about his effort. "Without taking credit from my opponent, (it was a) bad match from my side, not the quality that I want, not the level that I want to perform," he said. "(I need to) try to work hard, feel this winning (habit come) back a little bit and try to still believe. "Keep my head up, even though it's not easy, but I will try my best." — AFP
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
McIntosh makes golden start as Australia win world relay double
SINGAPORE: Teenage phenomenon Summer McIntosh captured gold in ominous fashion on the opening day of the world swimming championships on Sunday as Australia claimed a relay double in Singapore. The 18-year-old Canadian launched her packed programme with a dominant performance in the women's 400m freestyle, romping home in 3min 56.26sec, nearly two seconds clear of China's Li Bingjie, who was followed by American great Katie Ledecky in bronze. It was world record holder McIntosh's first world title in the event as she pursues five individual golds in Singapore. With Australia's Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus skipping the championships before she prepares for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the race was billed as a showdown between McIntosh and Ledecky. But McIntosh grasped control early on and streaked further ahead as the race progressed. "I think the 400 freestyle in past world championships and Olympics, I haven't been at my best and I haven't been where I want to be," she said. "So to finally stand on the centre of the podium is promising for the rest of the meet." McIntosh, who broke three world records at the Canadian trials in the lead-up to the worlds, jumped straight back into the pool for the 200m medley semi-finals 20 minutes after winning gold. She qualified for the final with the fastest time, saying she was "in the best shape of my life." "Now I just have to act on that and put it into all of my races," she added. McIntosh was joined in Monday's 200m IM final by Chinese 12-year-old Yu Zidi. The schoolgirl, who juggles swimming with homework, squeezed into the final. "I'm in? Oh, I'm happy about that and I will continue to work harder," she said. "I hope to find a breakthrough at these world championships and show my potential." Germany's Lukas Maertens won a nail-biting gold in the men's 400m freestyle, pipping Australia's Sam Short by 0.02sec. Maertens, the Olympic champion and world record holder, became world champion in the event for the first time. German compatriot Florian Wellbrock won four golds in the open water events in Singapore and Maertens said their country had taken a "big step forward." "All the girls and guys are a really young team and there are a lot to come," he said. "Now I'm one of the old guys and I'm 23. That means a lot and I'm really proud to be in the German team." Maertens came home in 3min 42.35sec after a fierce battle with Short, the 2023 world champion. South Korea's Kim Woo-min, the reigning world champion, was third. Maertens was the favourite after breaking the world record in Stockholm in April, a mark that had stood since 2009. But Short fought him every stroke of the way, losing out after an incredible tussle to the finish. "There was a lot of pressure, also as the world record holder, it wasn't easy to fight these guys," said Maertens. Australia ended the opening night on a high after both their women's and men's teams won the 4x100m freestyle relays. The women's team of Mollie O'Callaghan, Meg Harris, Milla Jansen and Olivia Wunsch came home ahead of the United States, with the Netherlands third. Flynn Southam, Kai James Taylor, Maximillian Giuliani and Kyle Chalmers then completed the double, finishing ahead of Italy and the Americans in the men's race. Their winning time of 3:08.97 was a world championship record. "We've come together really well in camp and preparation – we believed we could do it and we did it," said Chalmers. The US team is battling a stomach bug in the camp, with two competitors skipping their opening races. Torri Huske, a treble gold medallist at last year's Paris Olympics, and 18-year-old Claire Weinstein did not compete "so they could focus on other events", team official Nikki Warner told AFP. "Our team experienced acute gastroenteritis," Warner said. "No one has pulled out of the competition." Huske later competed in the relay final. — AFP
