Playing football earlier in the day is better for the players
Playing football earlier is better
From a physiological point of view in terms of effort, competing earlier in the day is better than in the afternoon-evening. At midday the levels of cortisol are at their highest, optimising physiological functions and the mechanisms of action and reaction of the musculo-skeletal sysetm, improving sporting performance.
On the other hand, when competing later in the day, the players tend to be sleepier, and also take on board more calories than would be desirable in their time off. They also struggle to sleep after matches.
It is also however true, that from a psychological point of view, many players prefer to play later, because the audiences are higher at those times.
Extreme temperatures should see games called off
In terms of temperature, under normal conditions there is little difference in playing at midday or five in the afternoon. What is very different though is asking footballers to take to the pitch in extreme temperatures, like those seen at the Albacete-Arenas de Guecho, played in 39 degrees.
That game shouldn't have been played, as those temperatures can be damaging to the health of the players. And sport should be all about improving health. But once again economic interests took priority over health.