2019 Women's World Cup quarterfinals: Scorching heat to maintain firm grip on France

By Eric Leister, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

As the quarterfinals of the 2019 Women's World Cup continue through Saturday, a dangerous heat wave is adding another hurdle for the players and teams hoping to lay claim to the title of best in the world.

As intense heat built across parts of France early this past week, round of 16 matches were fortunate to escape the worst conditions. The same cannot be said for the quarterfinal matches.

The US team pose for a group photo ahead the Women's World Cup Group F soccer match between Sweden and the United States at Stade Océane, in Le Havre, France, Thursday, June 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

After a warm quarterfinal match between Norway and England in Le Havre on Thursday evening, action continued on Friday as France faced the United States in Paris. The U.S. won the match 2-1.

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The quarterfinals will come to an end on Saturday with matches in Valenciennes and Rennes. Heat will be a concern at both stadiums with kickoff set for 3 p.m. in Valenciennes and 6:30 p.m. in Rennes.

Temperatures will be around the day's high of 32 C (near 90 F) at the start of the match between Italy and the Netherlands in Valenciennes. The AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature will climb to 34 C (93 F).

Such temperatures may trigger required water breaks, which are allowed by FIFA rules any time after 30 minutes into a game played in extreme heat.

The threshold for extreme heat has been set at 32 C (89.6 F) on the wet-bulb globe temperature index. The wet-bulb globe temperature index is calculated using a combination of temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover.

Those same components are part of the equation used to calculate the AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature.

Heat will also bake Rennes with a high of 35 C (95 F) on Saturday. While the match will be played after peak heating, it will still be hot when Germany faces Sweden.

Temperatures will slightly fall from 32 to 28 C (89 to 83 F) during the match with an AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature as high as 33 C (92 F).

While the worst of the heat wave will be over before the semi-finals get underway in Lyon, temperatures can remain above normal with highs near 29 C (84 F) expected next Tuesday and Wednesday.