Spain‘s players will be sleeping on specially designed mattress toppers during the Qatar World Cup, in the hope that a good night’s sleep will help them succeed at the tournament.
Six members of Spain’s 26-man squad — including midfielders Marcos Llorente and Koke as well as Real Madrid forward Marco Asensio — will be using the toppers while they sleep at the national team’s training base at Qatar University.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
Spain arrived in Doha in the early hours of Friday and trained for the first time on Friday afternoon, ahead of their Group E opener against Costa Rica on Wednesday.
“We have a lot of clients in football, and they asked if we could offer them something for when they travel, to maintain their quality of sleep,” Marino Cid, founder of bed manufacturers Hogo, told ESPN. “We undertook scientific studies — we’ve had one published — and for this World Cup we’ve developed the first prototype. It isn’t on sale yet. We’ve only sent them to our clients at the World Cup.”
– 2022 World Cup guide: Star players, must-see games, more
The “Hogo Mat” is placed on top of a regular mattress and is meant to avoid the sleepless nights that can result from sleeping away from home, in an unfamiliar bed.
“You need to sleep for seven or eight hours a day, and we spend an average of 25 to 30 years [of our lives] asleep,” Cid said. “The hours of sleep are the most important for the body, because it’s when it resets.
