FIFA urged to change World Cup kick-offs

A spokesman said: “The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature will be the official measurement to determine whether cooling breaks shall be implemented. Should it exceed 32°C (also taking into account additional factors such as the time of day, the amount of cloud cover, wind, humidity and stadium location), the FIFA Venue Medical Officer will recommend cooling breaks to the FIFA General Coordinator and the Match Commissioner. For FIFA the health of the players is always highest priority. One core aspect in defining the kick-off times was the very thorough analysis of the historical climate date in all venues.

“Therefore, the venues with the highest average temperatures such as Manaus, Cuiaba and Fortaleza do not have any matches with 1pm kick-off times during the group stage.”

Meanwhile, former England skipper David Beckham believes the lack of experience in the squad will not hold the team back in Brazil.

Roy Hodgson selected a youthful party for the tournament with players such as Southampton duo Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw, Everton’s Ross Barkley and Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling called up. Shaw’s inclusion came at the expense of left-back Ashley Cole, who has won 107 caps.

Beckham believes England’s inexperienced men will handle the pressure as they face intense competition in the Premier League.

“The young players have had great seasons,” Beckham told Sky Sports News. “People have been saying it for years about players coming in to a big competition like this — it’s not about that any more.

“These young players have been playing in the biggest league in the world this season and quite a few seasons so there’s no players that are going to go on to this stage and be affected by it because you’ve got players that are playing, week in and week out, against some of the best players in the world and in the biggest league in the world and for some of the biggest clubs in the world.

“You’ve got a captain like Steven Gerrard that has had one of the best seasons probably for him and that Liverpool have had for quite a while. Players like that are well respected by the young players and that the young players will want to play for.

“So I think that we can cause a few upsets and a few surprises but obviously we have a tough group with Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica but there is no reason why we can’t go really far in this competition.

“We always perform well against the big teams and it doesn’t get much bigger than this.”