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Associated Press

Curacao fans went wild and the Germans were in shock after Livano Comenencia had scored a goal for the smallest nation by population to ever qualify for the World Cup against four-time champions Germany.
At 1-1 in Houston, a famous upset looked possible. Then came the hydration break.
Curacao lost the initiative, conceding two goals before half-time in what eventually became a 7-1 defeat to the Germans.
“I actually felt sorry for them,” former England striker Alan Shearer said. “They scored and then it was maybe 30 seconds after that it stopped. So it’s killed their momentum.”
Fifa’s new hydration breaks midway through each half – a novelty for this World Cup – were introduced to help players deal with the summer heat in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
But critics say they’re having unintended consequences, ruining the flow of the game and giving coaches a chance to tactically shift momentum in their team’s favour.


While player welfare is a real concern with temperatures expected to exceed 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) in the hottest World Cup venues, some say the hydration breaks are just an excuse for broadcasters to go to adverts in the middle of the game.
“We’re in America, right? So, it’s like, it is, it’s like it’s a timeout,” former Ireland international Roy Keane said on The Overlap, a podcast he co-hosts with long-time former Manchester United teammate Gary Neville. “We love football because of the pace of the game ... what it’s doing is stopping the flow of the game, the momentum.”
Rather than players merely taking on fluids, coaches have been seizing the opportunity to pass on in-game tactical instructions that would normally not be possible. And early indications are that it is having an effect.
“You can use the break to tell the players what they need to improve or what is good or what they should do better,” Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman said. “So you can use it in different ways to your advantage, and this is what we will be doing.”
In eight of the first 16 games there were goals scored within 10 minutes of the hydration break.
Morocco also paid the price against Brazil in New Jersey, having dominated the game from the start and scored just before the first break. Less than 10 minutes after play resumed, the game was level with Vinicius Jnr equalising.
Canada, the US, Australia, Scotland, Sweden and Iran have all benefited with goals soon after the break.
Fifa stipulated that the breaks would occur regardless of the weather, venue or location, meaning the Spain v Cape Verde match in Atlanta on Monday was interrupted despite being under a roof and in an air-conditioned stadium.
The governing body said it was to “ensure equal conditions for all teams, in all matches”.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said the breaks make sense in “extreme” heat conditions but questioned whether they were necessary at every match.
“Pause, freshen up and continue. Tomorrow, when the temperature that we’ll have in this stadium is chill, maybe these breaks are not so needed, but we need to abide by the rules,” he said.
Norway coach Staale Solbakken agreed.
“I can understand it when it’s like it’s been in Greensboro [North Carolina], when it’s been 35 degrees and a really hot climate and there’s a bit of vibration in the air – then I think it’s fine. But I don’t like it otherwise. I think it’s unnecessary,” he said.
Aside from the sporting impact on games, the stoppages have been criticised for damaging the spectacle for fans, with broadcasters using the opportunity to take commercial breaks.
In the United States, Fox immediately goes to commercials during the hydration breaks. Telemundo, a Spanish-language US broadcaster, does not.
Unlike in US professional sports like baseball, basketball and American football, commercial breaks have not been a common feature in football except during half-time.

“Every time going to a commercial is a bit ... not really [something] that I like,” said Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk, who watched World Cup games on TV before the Dutch began their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Japan. “I think for the neutral watchers on TV it’s also not great.”
France coach Didier Deschamps, however, said this is the changing face of football.
“It’s not two half-times, it is four quarter times basically that we’ve got. This is what’s been decided and so the players and the coaches adapt to this new reality,” he said.
It is not known if Fifa will implement hydration breaks at all future World Cups, but the English Football Association said it was unlikely to be in place for the European Championship, hosted by the UK and Ireland in 2028.


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Argentina’s head coach Lionel Scaloni gives instructions to his players as they take a hydration break during the match against Algeria at the World Cup. Photo: AFP

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Sport

Football

Some national team managers are seizing the opportunity to pass on in-game tactical instructions that would normally not be possible


Some national team managers are seizing the opportunity to pass on in-game tactical instructions that would normally not be possible.


Virgil Van Dijk

Fifa

Fifa hydration breaks spark backlash, blamed for killing momentum at World Cup

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Some national team managers are seizing the opportunity to pass on in-game tactical instructions that would normally not be possible

Some national team managers are seizing the opportunity to pass on in-game tactical instructions that would normally not be possible