Ggood evening! Welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live coverage of England vs Northern Ireland, starting at 8pm at St Mary’s in Southampton.
England uses new innovative ice wrapping techniques and special rehydration programs tailored to the needs of each player to prepare for the sweltering heat.
Telegraph Sport understand that most of the focus on dealing with the unusually high temperatures at their home Euros has come in training and recovery sessions, as all their games so far have taken place in the relative cool of the evening.
The ice packs are seen as a critical part of this process, as they target specific areas of the body and can be applied both in the middle of sessions and at the end.
It has long been a custom for athletes to use ice baths after training, but these are new methods of accelerating muscle recovery and have been well received by the players and coaching staff. Using rehydration drinks is also a crucial part of the training regimen, as well as before competitions.
Each player is instructed on how much fluid to carry during and after training, with specialized attention to each individual’s specific needs. Against Norway, when England blew away their opponents 8-0, it was noticeable how much more energy they had than the Scandivans, who appeared to be struggling with the surprisingly high temperature before a kick-off at 8pm.
These special measures are all part of a drive to achieve marginal gains for the Lionesses over their rivals as they aim to become the first England squad to win a major tournament since 1966. The sweltering conditions at their training camp on the outskirts of London actually help to naturally condition the players and improve their heat tolerance levels.
After being forced to endure special sweatsuits and ‘hot yoga’-esque conditions in the gym for training for the World Cup in France three years ago, and again for those heading to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, England’s nature allowed its course this summer.
Unlike tournaments abroad, where the squad had to adapt to the problems caused when moving from training in moderate conditions in the UK to playing competitive matches in the heat of the summer abroad, the gradually rising heat of late June and early July perfect for team conditioning.
England started training for the tournament when the weather conditions were normal for this time of year. Since then, the heat has become a bigger problem, but their bodies have gradually been able to adapt to the heat as temperatures slowly rise.
It is particularly hot in the south and east of the country where the Lionesses prepare and play their matches, but because they train in the hottest part of the day, it feels comfortable when they play matches in the evening. Should the temperature on the pitch reach 32 degrees or more during a match, there will be additional water breaks for the players to rehydrate.