Who can best stand the heat will sort the winners from losers at the World Cup

Graeme Souness was left out of the decisive final game against Uruguay at the 1986 World Cup because the Scotland manager, Alex Ferguson, knew he couldn’t go the distance.

HOT UNDER THE COLLAR: Graeme Souness struggled to handle heat in 1986 World Cup. Pic: Allsport/Getty Images/Hulton Archive.

Graeme Souness is one of the toughest footballers of all time, a midfield titan for Liverpool and Scotland in the 1970s and 1980s. He was occasionally outwitted by subtler players such as the Brazilian genius Zico, but no opponent ever got the better of him physically.

No human opponent, anyway. During the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Souness lost a stone in weight (6.35kg) against West Germany at Querétaro in stifling heat and at high altitude. “I can remember going down on my haunches and thinking: ‘God, do I not feel good,’” he said. “It was the worst I ever felt on a football pitch. I couldn’t breathe.”