A lot of the pre-World Cup build up has been surrounding the issue of the heat and humidity and 'how are the England players going to deal with it'? In the rainforest surrounded area of Manaus in particular, where England played their opening game against Italy, it was around 33 degrees and 76% humidity, which seems crazy when you're used to English weather! Obviously these conditions make it harder for all of the teams, not just England, but how does it affect them and their attitudes during games?
The Arena Amazonia, Manaus |
It has already been seen that players are looking to get fluids back into their system at every chance they can during the matches, to the extent that players are taking the attitude of feigning injuries almost every time they get fouled. This may seem pathetic to some but believe me, having experienced the conditions of Manaus personally, you really do need to keep hydrated and take a breather when you can! By taking this attitude, they allow a chance for everyone to re-hydrate and rest for a moment, a very wise move in my opinion to be successful.
It hasn't all been good though in Brazil. We've seen players waving the imaginary card to the referee to try and get opposition players booked or sent off, which although it isn't cheating, is poor sportsmanship. I for one am glad that English players don't tend to take this approach and wish it was punished more than it is - a guaranteed yellow card for the player who does it perhaps? However, as bad as it is, it is quite a clever way of increasing the chances of winning. The idea is that if a team goes down to 10 men, they will have to work harder and will therefore tire quicker, making it easier to win.
So to answer the original question, we have seen changes in attitudes, but to be honest nothing more than what was expected before the tournament started, and I imagine it was expected by most.
Anything to win. A simple idea, but to me, there are some things that you just don't do purely for the spirit of the game. Looking after your body, I'm all for it, but play the game like it should be played!
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