The England team could face thunderstorms during their game against Argentina in the Atlanta semifinals on Wednesday, weather forecasts show. Thomas Tuchel’s side will play Argentina in a World Cup semi-final clash on Wednesday at the futuristic Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Since their last visit to Atlanta, the Three Lions have had to contend with severe weather. In Mexico City a week ago, a thunderstorm delayed the kick-off by one hour, while in Miami, the heat and high humidity made beating Norway a very difficult task.
Temperatures ahead of the Wednesday match in Atlanta are expected to range between the high 20s and low 30s around the time of kick-off at 3pm local time. While the stadium’s retractable roof should keep things pleasant, in the case of thunderstorms, the semi-final would be impacted regardless of the stadium’s technology.
That’s because FIFA protocol requires matches to be suspended if electronic activity is detected within an eight-mile radius of the ground. Plus, a game can only resume when 30 consecutive minutes without a lightning strike are recorded. But the action wouldn’t get going straight away, as players must complete a 15-minute warm-up before the match restarts.
BBC Weather predicts “thundery showers and light winds”, so a possible interruption cannot be ruled out yet. At 3pm local time, the chance of rain is currently at 64%, and humidity will climb to 68%. The temperature might climb to 29°C, which will feel like 37 °C.
Furthermore, WXCharts forecasts show Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) of around 2,000 or more Joules per kilogram, indicating moderate to severe thunderstorms. CAPE can be understood as the atmospheric energy available to thunderstorms. It measures how buoyant a parcel of warm, moist air is compared to the cooler air surrounding it higher up in the atmosphere. The higher the CAPE value, the faster rising air will accelerate upward, leading to higher thunderstorm potential.
It comes following Jude Bellingham’s high-profile disagreement with Tuchel after beating Norway 2-1 after extra-time. The England manager described his team as “lucky” to advance after putting in a “sloppy” performance, The Mirror reports.
“Maybe he [Tuchel] doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those conditions against [Erling] Haaland, [Martin] Odegaard, [Antonio] Nusa and [Alexander] Sorloth,” Bellingham said post-match.
He added: “They’re not an easy team to play against.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the lads. You can’t win every game popping the ball and making 1,000 passes, sometimes you have to win dirty and we did that today.”