Juventus boss Igor Tudor says 10 of his players asked to be substituted due to the "really difficult conditions" in their 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid.
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Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 at CWCTEN Juve players asked to be subbedTudor laments "difficult" conditionsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
During Juventus' last-16 Club World Cup loss to Madrid on Tuesday, both sets of players had to put up with temperatures of 31 Celsius. After the defeat, manager Tudor says his side struggled to cope with the oppressive heat in a game that proved to be a bridge too far.
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He said, via ESPN: "The conditions were really difficult today. Ten players asked me to be replaced. They were really tired. There are a lot of factors that weighed into that. It is the end of a long season and there was a lot of stress on the players that takes their energy. The conditions that they played with were really difficult, the humidity too. All of these conditions make it much more difficult. And the heat – that was another thing that made it more difficult."
Watch every game of the FIFA Club World Cup live on DAZNStream nowTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Footballers have threatened to go on strike due to the rising number of games they are being asked to play, and now this Club World Cup, which for many teams comes after the regular season, is adding to their hefty workload. Incidentally, the high temperatures in the United States for this competition may lead organisers of the 2026 World Cup in North America into a rethink regarding player welfare.
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While Juventus' players will now head off for their shorter summer break ahead of the 2025-26 season, Madrid will face Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup on Saturday.
