The FIFA World Cup 2026 has thrown up a formidable challenge beyond the football itself — punishing heat across North American venues. After the first round of group games, data compiled by Sky Sports reveals which teams and players have handled the conditions best, with France and Michael Olise emerging as standout performers.

The hottest games of the opening round

The most sweltering fixture of the first round was the Group H draw between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Miami, where the outside temperature peaked at 32.9 degrees. Marcelo Bielsa's side were grateful for a late Maxi Araujo goal to salvage a 1-1 result.

Belgium's 1-1 draw with Egypt in Group G was the second-hottest game at 31 degrees, while Brazil and Morocco played out a 1-1 stalemate at the New York New Jersey Stadium in 30.9-degree heat. Ivory Coast's 1-0 victory over Ecuador in Philadelphia came in at 29.4 degrees. Notably, all four of the tournament's hottest matches produced fewer than three goals — a pattern that suggests conditions are influencing outcomes.

At the opposite extreme, Austria's 3-1 win over Jordan at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium was played in a maximum of just 16.2 degrees, illustrating the dramatic variability across venues.

France beat the heat — and Senegal

Premier League research by Sky Sports shows that distance covered and sprints typically decline as temperatures climb. That trend has largely held at this World Cup, but France have been a conspicuous exception.

Despite playing in New Jersey at just under 26 degrees — nearly 10 degrees warmer than in San Francisco — France clocked the second-highest combined distance covered of any team in the opening round. That relentless work rate proved decisive as they overpowered Senegal in the second half of their 3-1 Group I victory.

Morocco also impressed in terms of distance covered during their 1-1 draw with Brazil in 30.9-degree heat at the same New Jersey venue. USA's 4-1 win over Paraguay in Los Angeles, where they ran a combined 119.9km, also outperformed what the temperature would suggest.

Olise's physical intensity sets the standard

Michael Olise drew widespread admiration for his quality against Senegal — his incisive through-ball created Kylian Mbappe's opening goal — but his physical output was equally striking. The Bayern Munich winger covered 12.6km, the third-highest distance by any player in the first round, behind only Jordan's Noor Alrawabdeh and Ghana's Caleb Yirenkyi, both of whom played in considerably cooler conditions in San Francisco and Toronto respectively.

Two of Olise's France team-mates, Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni, also featured among the top 15 players for distance covered, each surpassing 12km. Olise's 79 sprints ranked second across all players in the opening round, according to FIFA, with only Barcelona's Raphinha exceeding that total — the Brazilian winger registered 80 sprints in even hotter conditions against Morocco. Morocco's Ismael Saibari, who is set to join Bayern Munich from PSV Eindhoven, recorded the third-most sprints at 76 in that same match.

Haaland edges Mbappe in the speed rankings

Unlike distance and sprints, top speeds appear unaffected — and may even marginally increase — in hotter conditions, according to FIFA's data. Australia full-back Jordan Bos leads the speed charts having reached 36.7km/h, with Manchester City's Erling Haaland second at 36.5km/h during his two-goal display for Norway against Iraq. Haaland's Manchester City team-mate Abdukodir Khusanov, representing Uzbekistan, sits third on 36.5km/h.

France's Kylian Mbappe, who also scored twice against Senegal, ranks seventh at 35.1km/h — just below Heung-Min Son, who reached 35.2km/h for South Korea against Czech Republic at the age of 33.

Players from air-conditioned venues are excluded from the speed rankings, but tracking data shows Djed Spence — introduced as a substitute in England's 4-2 win over Croatia — hit 35.2km/h, validating Thomas Tuchel's description of him as England's fastest player.

England's heat test lies ahead

England produced an electric second-half display against Croatia, ranking ninth for distance covered and fifth for sprints across all 48 opening-round teams. However, their efforts were aided by the air-conditioned Dallas Stadium, which kept temperatures around a comfortable 22 degrees.

Tuchel has stated he has no intention of adjusting England's style for the heat. "I'm just not ready to adapt into a different style of football because of circumstances that we cannot influence," he said. "I think we would just give up our strengths."

England's remaining group games against Ghana in Boston and Panama in New Jersey are expected to bring temperatures in the high 20s — a stiff examination of whether Tuchel's side can sustain their intensity. France's example, at least, proves the heat can be overcome.