GREAT WORLD CUP BAKE-OFF
England to play quarter final in searing 84F heat
ENGLAND will have more than just the Swedish team to overcome during tomorrow’s World Cup quarter final.
They will also face temperatures of up to 29C (84F) in Samara.
The average July temperature in the southwestern Russian city is around 25.5C (78F), but it is experiencing a heatwave and temperatures in the past fortnight have been much higher.
On Tuesday they hit 36.7C (98F), breaking a record for the city set in 1954 and causing problems with water supplies.
Forecasters predict there could be some cloud cover in the city – 620 miles from Moscow – at the weekend, cutting the temperatures.
But the mercury could still reach between 26.6 (80F) and 84F.
The cloud cover might help Gareth Southgate’s team, who have been staying in the relatively cool Gulf of Finland area of Repino 20 miles north of St Petersburg.
There, the day time temperature is usually around 16.6C (62F), with frequent rain.
England are due to play Sweden in the quarter-final of the World Cup on Saturday afternoon at the 41,000 capacity Samara Arena.
Sweden may be more acclimatised, with the team’s training base being in the sunny Black Sea resort of Gelendzhik.
However, England have shown they can play in high temperatures following a 6-1 victory over Panama in Nizhny Novgorod in temperatures above 30C (86F).
Those heading to Samara – Russia’s sixth largest city – will not only face high temperatures but also a shortage of water.
The city’s population of just over one million has been told to start showering in pairs. The Samara Communal Systems utility company announced that the combination of the heatwave and the influx of tens of thousands of fans was putting a massive strain on water supplies.
It was having to provide 10 per cent more cold water than normal which was causing water pressure to drop in many areas.
The unofficial England anthem Three Lions is back in the Top 40 ahead of the match.
The track, by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and The Lightning Seeds, is surging up the singles chart following England’s dramatic penalty shootout win against Colombia on Tuesday.
Three Lions is at No 35 in the singles chart, counting sales and streams from last Friday to midnight on Wednesday night, up from Number 56 on Monday. Chart experts say it is almost certain to higher in the Top 40 when the Official Singles Chart is announced later today.