ATLANTA (AP) — Curaçao fans went wild. The Germans were in shock.
Livano Comenencia had scored a goal for the smallest nation by population to ever qualify for the World Cup against four-time champion Germany.
At 1-1 in Houston, a famous upset looked possible.
Then came the hydration break.
Curaçao lost the initiative, conceding two goals before halftime in what eventually became a 7-1 defeat to the Germans.
“I actually felt sorry for them,” former England striker Alan Shearer told The Rest is Football podcast. “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 90 F (32 C) in the hottest World Cup venues, some say the hydration breaks are just an excuse for broadcasters to go to commercials in the middle of the game.
“We’re in America, right? So, it’s like a timeout,” former Ireland international Roy Keane said on The Overlap, a podcast that he co-hosts with long-time 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 rehydration break.
Morocco 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 Junior equalising.
Canada, the US, Australia, Scotland, Sweden and Iran have all benefited with goals soon after the break.
Momentum maps have shown how games have shifted after the new stoppages in play.
The hydration breaks also affect the experience of fans watching the games at stadiums. There were boos from the crowd during the first hydration break in the game Tuesday between Iraq and Norway in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Referees pause the games 22 minutes into each half, with players given three minutes to rehydrate.
FIFA stipulated that the breaks would occur regardless of the weather, venue or location, meaning the Spain vs. 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 (95 Fahrenheit) 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 such as baseball, basketball and football, commercial breaks have not been a common feature in football except during the halftime break.
