England warned World Cup success hinges on conquering heat and travel challenges | OneFootball

Meticulous preparation and a calm approach will be crucial for England as they navigate the most complex World Cup ever, according to Dr Ben Rosenblatt, the squad’s lead physical performance coach at the last two tournaments.

The upcoming global showpiece presents an unprecedented challenge, combining extensive travel, significant time-zone disruption, and the intense heat and humidity of the host nation.

England’s campaign began this week with their arrival in the United States, where they are currently acclimatising in sweltering Florida ahead of friendlies against New Zealand and Costa Rica, before establishing their base in Kansas City.

Rosenblatt, who was a key member of Sir Gareth Southgate’s backroom staff between 2016 and 2023, reflected on the unique hurdles each World Cup presents.

He told the Press Association: "I think if you take the perspective it’s going to be really hard, then it is. When I was there, it was always very much, ‘These are the problems to solve’."

He highlighted the contrasting demands of previous tournaments.

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Rosenblatt was part of England’s coaching setup under Gareth Southgate for seven years (PA Wire)

"I think fundamentally each tournament has had its real uniqueness," he explained. "We had nine days to prepare for Qatar (2022), which is from a physical performance perspective really challenging, and then there was obviously heat acclimation as well.

“Russia (2018) was brilliant because of the amount of time we had to prepare, but there was also an enormous amount of travel. You were sometimes getting back at 6.30, 7 in the morning and then trying to get some food into the lads. They’re eating chicken goujons at half six in the morning."

Concluding his thoughts on past experiences, Rosenblatt added: "All of them have got their uniqueness and I think it’s the team who stays calm and prepares the best, obviously with the right players, that can give you the best opportunity for success."

This World Cup is anticipated to be the hottest since the US hosted the event in 1994. Rosenblatt emphasised that the focus will now shift to managing the players’ thermal load and conditioning them to perform in uncomfortable conditions.

"You’d be surprised how quickly a human body adapts," said Rosenblatt, who departed his role with England three years ago to establish 292 Performance.

He elaborated on individual responses to extreme environments.

"It’s really easy in a team sport to paint the picture of ‘the team will struggle’. Inevitably you might have five or six players who are going to absolutely thrive in that environment.

“You’re going to have five or six, maybe less usually, two or three, who are like, it’s a disaster and it’s really hard and could even be dangerous in some ways. Then you’ve got the middle, who will just kind of go one way or the other, based on your preparation."

Effective management, he stressed, involves understanding each player’s needs. "It’s about understanding who those players are, what are they going to respond to and making sure you take care of the middle group by doing everything possible to help them adjust, and you’re really watching out for those outliers.

“Then fundamentally it’s about good decision-making around that as well, like how often they’re playing, what training’s like, how they’re recovering."

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England have started their World Cup preparations in Florida (PA Wire)

England plan to leverage the controlled environment of their team plane to mitigate the effects of travel, which will be more extensive than any tournament since Russia eight years ago.

The establishment of a consistent home away from home in Kansas City is also a strategic move, fostering a sense of team and connection rather than the transient nature of constantly moving between different hotel hubs.

Rosenblatt explained the rationale: "Fundamentally they would have taken a judgment that the environment and conditions that they can set up in their camp and the feeling of coming home every time feels better than constantly (moving).

“The other one, when you’ve constantly got different hubs, you have to set that up every single time, so by travelling every time there’s a level of exhaustion that takes place as well."