Ståle: FK Vardar clash will be close

The FCK squad trained on Monday evening at the sports centre of the Macedonian Football Association and set out at temperatures around 35c.

It will be a bit cooler as the sun goes down for Tuesday’s 8pm kick off but Ståle and the players did not hide the fact that the heat could become a factor for the game.

"I think it will be close tomorrow and also when you look over the two games as a whole. Vardar is a team of strong individuals but we know their strengths and weaknesses," said Ståle.

"Felipe is a really good midfielder, and with respect for Vardar, one can wonder why he is playing in a league like this.

“Balotelli is strong and direct, I also like their defenders who are good at organising the team at the back and we saw that their goalkeeper was good during one-on-one situations against Malmö.

"It may be an advantage to play away first but we have one less rest day than if we had played at home on a Wednesday.

“In return, we have four days between the matches next week. Three days between the matches can sometimes be a problem.

“The heat may be something we should take into consideration. Conversely, before we have tried to play at these temperatures, the heat will probably be a little less pressing come kick off.”

Several of Copenhagen players were naturally also wary of the very hot temperatures during the training, while others seemed to enjoy it.

"I'm used to the warmth of Cyprus," Pieros Sotiriou smiled, while Federico Santander did not have anything to complain about.

Uros Matic is not unfamiliar with the temperature either, saying: "I've been used to it every summer but of course I'm coming from the Danish summer, and that's a big difference.”

William Kvist was also on hand to discuss the match.

"Vardar are a very well trained team with many national team players, and of course we are very respectful when considering that we are still in a building phase,” Kvist said.

“I would call them a typical Balkan team: clever and technically talented, while they are good at reading the match and switching between holding the ball and wasting time a little and then driving hard.”