Team Scotland turn up the temperature to train for World Cup with University of West of Scotland

Team Scotland will be battling much more than just opposing teams at the World Cup – they’ll also be facing soaring summer temperatures in several states.

To prepare, Scotland’s men’s football team worked with the University of the West of Scotland to help players adapt to demanding temperatures.

In the university’s Extreme Environments Chamber, Steve Clarke’s men faced temperatures of 32C and 80% humidity, replicating peak summer conditions in Florida.

The team were weighed before stepping into the chamber to cycle in the swelterig temperatures – akin to those found in the Sahara.

Professor Vish Unithan from the University of the West of Scotland, told STV News: “If you can have this acclimation eight, nine, ten days, then it can help to maintain the sort of sprint distances that these footballers need to maintain. It can also hopefully prevent any decline in the sort of high-speed running over prolonged distances that the players are going to have to cover.

“The humidity being so high in the States, the onset of sweating is going to occur earlier so even with a small rise in core temperature, the body’s going to reactf faster, it’s going to start sweating quicker.

“Haiti have got those natural advantages with the environment they play in, but you would hope that Scotland have got a game model and players that can compensate for that.”

The chamber can recreate almost any environment on Earth — from the conditions found on Mount Kilimanjaro to the freezing temperatures athletes face at events such as the Winter Olympics

Jack Williams from the University of the West of Scotland added: “All they’re trying to do is just increase their core temperature, so we’re monitoring that throughout this session so we can go up to 40C.

“The absolute killer is maybe the humidity, up to 90% humidity. So we can simulate a good range of environments there, even if it’s just that perceptual, psychological ‘I can perform in this temperature’, that’s fantastic for those players.”