Summary: Sports science in this year's World Cup specifically confirms that the teams that win competitions are those that better assess the fatigue factor and gain the ability to adapt their tactics to such factors. Also, the information that researchers have worked hard to obtain and provide to us is only useful when people can interpret it, and when they have the ability to act on it practically and in a timely manner before the situation worsens too much.

What sports science offers about fatigue in football and the 2026 World Cup competitions is not just valuable information that can be applied in matches, as it has many other benefits that can be used in our daily lives.

In workplaces specifically, knowing some sports information and applying it correctly increases employee productivity in the same way it increases the productivity of sports teams and players on the green pitch. However, this sports information and its applications may not be as available to an employee in a company or a healthcare worker as they are to a professional football player. Therefore, sports scientists, psychologists, and academics have recently called for the dissemination of sports information in workplaces, as knowing such information is very important in our daily lives, just as it is during World Cup competitions. And in this year's World Cup specifically, sports science confirmed that the teams that win competitions are those that better assessed the fatigue factor and that gain the ability to adapt their tactics to such unfamiliar factors, including high temperatures.

Managing fatigue

What football and competing in World Cup matches can teach us is a lot, and the most important of those shared lessons between athletes and employees is learning to manage fatigue in extreme conditions. Fatigue is not a single condition, so sports science distinguishes between different types of fatigue that affect players, while the same principle applies outside sports, as delivery drivers, nurses, teachers, caregivers, cooks, builders, and cleaners may have to think, move, and make decisions while working in difficult conditions as well.

Academics from universities around the world say that the 2026 Men's World Cup has made it difficult to ignore fatigue and its impact on fields of life and on the pitch, as some matches are held in hot and humid conditions, while the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City is located at an altitude of more than 2,200 meters above sea level. Heat and altitude make playing sports uncomfortable, and they also change the way the body and mind work under pressure. What happens in such critical situations is that body heat forces the player to exert more effort to maintain stable internal temperature, while humidity increases stress because sweat does not evaporate easily, making cooling difficult. When playing at high altitudes, lower air pressure means less oxygen reaches the blood and muscles. These conditions combined can affect endurance, prevent recovery between sprints, and impede or paralyze concentration and correct decision-making in a timely manner.

In this context, Professor of Sports Psychology at the University of Wolverhampton Andrew Lane and Associate Professor of Sports and Exercise Sciences at the same university's Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing Ross Cloak wrote a joint article titled 'What World Cup football matches can teach us about managing fatigue in extreme conditions,' published on a British website last Thursday. In it, regarding fatigue affecting football players and employees, they wrote: 'Fatigue is not a single condition. Sports science is distinguished by its ability to differentiate between different types of fatigue because athletic performance depends on knowing the sources of impairment. Our research emphasizes this point specifically. Is the athlete slowing down due to muscle fatigue, high heart rate, high body temperature, lack of sleep, or decreased concentration?'

England national team player Reece James uses an ice pack during a break in the match against Ghana (social media)

A useful lesson for everyone

Whatever the answer to such questions, the conclusion reached by the two researchers about fatigue, whether for the athlete on the pitch or the worker in their workplace, is enough to draw our attention to the seriousness of this paradox. Therefore, the researchers add: 'Here sports science offers a useful lesson for everyone. Running, tackling, passing, or making a decision itself can seem much harder when the body is also suffering from heat, humidity, or low air density.' Lane and Cloak point out that research on football players shows that 'exposure to heat can reduce physical and cognitive performance.'

Outside the realm of sports

The same principle can be applied outside sports, as fatigue is sometimes seen as weakness or lack of motivation. But fatigue is usually more complex. In this context, the researchers confirmed that the best way to understand fatigue is through combining two sciences: psychology and physiology. According to the researchers, this also requires knowing how the body works, along with considering the role of medicine and neuroscience to study the brain and nervous system. Fatigue becomes clear when the body sends signals that the effort exerted in work or on the pitch has become too high, and the danger is that this happens while the athlete or employee still wants or needs to continue working. Here lies the difference that benefits sports: this matter is well understood by the professional football player and his team. Coaches usually do not ask players to exert more effort in extreme conditions; rather, they plan to remove fatigue and recover through hydration, cooling, removing clothing, and choosing the right time to ignore warning signs. Meanwhile, what is required here is to apply the same sports principle to the employee in their workplace.

Psychological skills

The researchers provide a new scientific insight into the nature of the big difference between what happens with a football player on the pitch and an employee or worker outside it. The football player is trained in several psychological skills related to this dangerous type of fatigue, as players learn how to regulate effort, control attention, manage emotions, and use positive self-talk about this sports condition. These skills help them determine whether the feeling is 'just expected discomfort, a signal to adapt, or a warning sign.' According to the academics, this experience in distinguishing between symptoms determines the good performance of a football player, 'especially when the player feels heaviness in the legs, rapid heartbeat, and discomfort in heat or at high altitudes.'

Discomfort or danger