The dust has now settled after an enthralling Euro 2012. England met most people’s expectations and are sitting pretty in fourth in FIFA’s world rankings. Irrespective of this the manner in which England bowed out is a major cause for concern.

The Tournament

Despite having relatively little to do against France in their opening game, England’s number one Joe Hart looked physically exhausted in his post-match interview.

“It’s hot out there; I’m not going to bore anyone with excuses because we were both tired, both from countries that aren’t used to that heat.

“I don’t think anyone really expected that when the Ukraine and Poland were announced for the Euro’s.”

Whilst Hart’s words were an honest admission, his expression was more of disbelief.

For the first 60 minutes England and France were evenly matched in possession. Just after the hour mark there was a noticeable drop in England’s performance, culminating in the two rigid banks of four being camped on the edge of their own 18-yard box. The usually tireless Scott Parker was eventually replaced by Jordan Henderson on 77 minutes as a result of fatigue. England soaked up the pressure well with Benzema looking like the only French player capable of making something happen in the latter stages.

Similarly England’s defence dropped deep late on against Sweden, despite little evidence of a swift or particularly potent offence, a clear sign of weary legs. Fortunately, the number of bodies behind the ball kept the Scandinavians at bay.

Even against Italy, England refused to back down and fought until the dreaded penalty shoot-out. In reality the players gave all they had to give on a physical and technical level.

So how can England account for such lacklustre performances?

It is obvious to many that England lack the technically gifted individuals possessed by Spain and Germany in particular, however what was surprising was the lack of apparent fitness demonstrated, something the Premiership supposedly prides itself on. After examining the coaching staff’s arrangements prior to the tournament, it seems that England entered Euro 2012 wholly unprepared.

Fitness levels can’t be blamed, neither can the ages of our central midfield pairing (Parker and Gerrard are 31 and 32 respectively) or the long season beforehand as the likes of Xavi and Alonso played in excess of 50 games for club and country and still impressed throughout.

What we have to look at is other factors that may affect performance. And as Joe Hart rightly pointed out, the heat of Ukraine had a massive bearing on England’s performances.

Exercising in the heat

The challenge when exercising in hot conditions is to lose heat fast enough to ensure that body temperature does not rise in excess of 40°C. At this point the body is at serious risk of heat stroke.

Humans have evolved to be excellent thermal regulators and have numerous mechanisms designed to dissipate heat in order to prevent getting too hot. Basic physics dictates that we can lose heat through conduction, convection, radiation and evaporation.

During England’s first match the environmental (air temperature) peaked at 34°C exceeding the temperature at the skins surface (33°C) resulting in the players actually absorbing heat from the air. At this point sweating is the only viable method of losing heat.

The vast majority of heat generated is lost through evaporation of water at the skin, otherwise known as sweating. Generally the higher the intensity, the greater the volume of sweat produced to counteract rising levels of heat. At high-intensities athletes can lose over a litre of fluid an hour, so it is imperative to take water on when thirsty and rehydrate properly after exercise.

During exercise blood is pumped away from our digestive tract and redirected to our muscles, this is known as the vascular shunt. An increase in muscle blood flow allows more oxygen to be delivered and more carbon dioxide and waste products to be removed from the working muscles, allowing aerobic respiration to persist.

An increase in skin blood flow is also witnessed to allow heat to be lost through conduction / convection. During extended bouts of high-intensity exercise at high temperatures, blood has a tendency to pool (build-up) in the skins capillaries (the smallest type of blood vessel). Couple this with a decreased blood volume associated with sweating and there is a significant fall in blood pressure, putting massive strains on the heart.

Figure 3. 1. Increased blood and internal temperature. 2. Impulses go to hypothalamus. 3. Vasodilation occurs in skin blood vessels so more heat is lost across the skin. 4. Sweat glands become more active, increasing evaporative heat loss. 5. Body temperature decreases.

At this point reflex adjustments (non-thermoregulatory) kick in attempting to preserve blood pressure, forcing blood back into the core (through an increase in total peripheral resistance) and preventing such severe consequences such as cardiovascular failure (heart attack). This increases the muscle temperature beyond which can be sustained, causing fatigue, cramp and a drop in performance.

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