PHILADELPHIA — Paraguay manager Gustavo Alfaro suggested the extreme heat predicted for Saturday’s round of 16 match against heavily favored France could help his side, but only so much.

High temperatures around 100 Fahrenheit with significant humidity are forecast for the Mid-Atlantic city, with the highs coming an hour or two before the 5 p.m. ET scheduled kickoff.

Paraguay play their home qualifiers in the capital of Asuncion, where average summer highs rise into the 90s.

“We are used to the heat. Yes, we are,” Alfaro said on Friday via an interpreter. “However, you suffer the heat. What knockout match do you have in Paraguay at five in the afternoon? None. Maybe it happened once and there was a defeat. You don’t play at that time.”

He also noted it wouldn’t be the same as Mexico’s advantage playing at high altitude, conditions that Mexico have trained in for weeks.

“Even though you might have this memory, physical memory of understanding what happens with high altitude (or) what happens with heat, it’s different from what happens when you’re there,” he said.

“But the heat will affect both teams. And high altitude affects both teams, yes. But those that have a slight advantage are the ones that were able to prepare in that situation.”

Paraguay pulled off their round of 32 shock over Germany without center back Omar Alderete, who picked up a knee injury in the Albirroja’s group finale against Australia.

Alfaro said Alderete has not yet returned to full team training, but did not rule him out.

“Omar worked well yesterday, but he didn’t do anything on the field,” Alfaro said. “He did tough physical work. He responded well to the work. We’ll see today at our training to see how he responds. … “

“Let’s see if he can start or if he can come in later. He wants to be there. He’s told me, ‘Coach, I don’t want to miss this game.'”

Even though Monday’s triumph over Germany was celebrated with a national holiday, veteran Paraguay defender Junior Alonso insisted there would be no letdown in preparations to face Les Bleus.

“We have worked so hard, we have made so many sacrifices at the professional level, at the personal level, because our dream was to have Paraguay in a World Cup,” he said.

“So whether we have lost or not against Germany, it wouldn’t have meant a defeat to us because we did everything humanly possible to obtain that result and we were able to achieve that. And in this case, in the match against France, it won’t be different because we have the same mindset.

“We know what we are capable of. And the only thing that we could promise to the Paraguayan people is that we are going to give it all. Hopefully, God will be on our side and we will get the result that we want. But if that is not the case, we would have peace of mind anyway because we got prepared for this every day after getting so tired playing with Germany.”

–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media

After holding discussions regarding a change for the start time of the World Cup round of 16 match between England and host Mexico on Sunday, the match will remain at its scheduled time, multiple media outlets reported on Friday.

FIFA reportedly spoke with the Mexican and English football federations about altering the kickoff time in an attempt to avoid inclement weather.

According to the BBC, worries about the players’ readiness and travel logistics involving spectators prompted the decision to leave the game time unchanged.

The kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. local time in Mexico City, 1 a.m. in the United Kingdom. FIFA discussed moving up the kickoff six hours to noon at Azteca Stadium, which would be 7 p.m. in the UK and 2 p.m. Eastern time, per the reports.

Mexico’s 2-0 victory over Ecuador in the round of 32 on Tuesday in Mexico City was delayed due to rain.

France’s group-stage match with Iraq on June 22 was paused under tournament safety rules when lightning strikes are detected within eight miles of the stadium, resulting in an automatic 30-minute delay to play.

England defeated the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2-1 on Wednesday in Atlanta to advance to the round of 16.

Fans of the Three Lions in Great Britain probably would have preferred the earlier start time. Licensing laws were relaxed to allow pubs in the United Kingdom to stay open until 5 a.m. local time.

Had FIFA moved up the England-Mexico match, it reportedly might also have moved the kickoff time for Brazil’s round of 16 match with Norway from 4 p.m. Eastern on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., to avoid a potential overlap with the contest in Mexico City.

–Field Level Media

All-Star starter Breanna Stewart scored a season-high 36 points as the host New York Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx 99-86 on Friday night.

New York (13-8) got good support from Sabrina Ionescu (17 points, six assists), Jonquel Jones (14 points, a game-high 15 rebounds and five assists), rookie Pauline Astier (14 points, six assists) and Leonie Fiebich (13 points, four assists).

The Lynx, who still have the best record in the WNBA at 15-5, were led by Rookie of the Year front-runner Olivia Miles, who had 14 points — all but two before halftime — and five assists. Miles and teammate Natasha Howard were also named All-Star starters on Thursday.

However, Howard was held to seven points on 3-for-10 shooting.

The Lynx – who are tied with Las Vegas for the best road record in the league at 9-2 – also got 18 points from Kayla McBride and 16 points from Courtney Williams.

New York led 26-22 after a first quarter that featured 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting by Stewart. The Liberty missed their first four shots and then made 11 in a row, leading by as many as 12 points. The Lynx did well to stay close given the Liberty making 61.1% of their first-quarter field goals.

Midway through the second quarter, Minnesota took a 40-39 lead on two Miles free throws before the Liberty closed the quarter on a 13-2 run to take a 59-49 advantage into halftime.

Stewart scored 18 first-half points, while Miles had 12 points and five assists. New York shot 64.7% from the floor. Minnesota shot 40.9% but stayed in the game by outscoring New York 13-5 on second-chance points behind eight offensive rebounds.

In the third quarter, Stewart scored 11 points as New York stretched its lead to 78-65. Miles was held to two points in the third.

New York added to its lead midway through the fourth, going up 85-68, and the Liberty cruised from there.

For the game, New York shot 58.1% to 40% for Minnesota.

–Field Level Media