Players prepare for first World Cup held in middle of club season

There have been World Cup games played at altitude and at sea level, in torrential rains and under a blazing sun.

But never has there been one played in the fall, in the middle of the club season. That will happen this year when the first World Cup to be held in the desert kicks off in November in Qatar.

And no one appears certain how to approach it.

“I don’t know, honestly. There’s never been in history something like this,” said…