‘Different kind of hot’ – Brenden Aaronson admits USMNT still ‘acclimating’ to Qatar temperatures ahead of World Cup

USMNT arrived in Qatar this weekFeeling the heat in trainingBerhalter adjusting start times to deal with weather

WHAT HAPPENED? Aaronson compared the temperature to Leeds, where he plays club soccer, saying that the England city tends to be “cloudy and rainy” while the sun beats down on players in Qatar. On Tuesday, the capital city of Doha had a high temperature of 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

WHAT THEY SAID: “It’s definitely a different kind of hot here,” Aaronson said. “But I’m excited. And I think that they’re trying to put training at different times, maybe today was midday so it was a little bit hotter. You don’t really know what’s going to happen in the stadium, we haven’t seen them yet or anything, but we’re just trying to acclimate.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The USMNT has experience in a variety of temperatures, having played many matches over the years in the Mexican summer sun while enduring biting cold in the Midwest winter, such as last January when they forced Honduras to play in a -16 degree climate. It will indeed be a fast switch in temperature for Aaronson, though, as he has been on club duty in England.

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WHAT NEXT FOR THE USMNT? Gregg Berhalter’s squad will begin its World Cup with a Group B match against Wales at Al Rayyan Stadium.