England may have made the ideal start to their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 4-2 victory against Croatia on Wednesday but there were still boos during the match.
They weren’t directed at the players or the officials. Instead, they were targeted at a controversial addition to games for this tournament – hydration breaks.
There are two pauses per game – one in the middle of each half, each for three minutes – and they were introduced to help players deal with the summer heat in North America.
While they have been welcomed by some national team bosses, the fans seem less keen and both England and Croatia supporters united in the air-conditioned Dallas Stadium to jeer the break in play on Wednesday.
The main source of criticism for their addition is that they are viewed as additional financial revenue, with broadcasters utilising the breaks to show more adverts.
“The hydration breaks are obviously for one purpose and that’s big money for advertisements,” said one England fan after the game.
“In this stadium, I don’t think they were needed but in another with no air conditioning and you are playing in 90 degrees plus, they are absolutely essential.”
Another Three Lions supporter added: “Yes, if you are outside you need a hydration break, I get that. But you are in an air conditioned stadium – you don’t need one.
“It stops the flow. Football is about the flow and there’s no need to stop the flow in an air-conditioned stadium.”
‘It is the Americanisation of football here’
This was not the first game where boos have been at the hydration break, and the wave of dislike for them among fans appears to be gathering momentum.
On Tuesday, during Norway’s match against Iraq in Boston, the pause in play was greeted by boos from the crowd, with the temperature a more than manageable 23C at the time.
It was goalless just before the break but Iraq conceded four minutes after play resumed, and went on to lose 4-1.
There were loud boos for the pause during Sweden’s 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia on Monday and Spain’s goalless draw with Cape Verde on the same day, with that game played in the air-conditioned Atlanta Stadium.
And after England’s win against Croatia, the first hydration break during the match between Ghana and Panama was also greeted by jeers.
The hydration breaks have effectively turned games into four quarters rather than two halves, a concern for some of those England supporters who booed the break.
“It is like the Americanisation of football here,” said one.
“It is turning the game into quarters and I don’t love it. I get why people were booing and I was one of them.”
But some supporters do think there are benefits to them.
“I think they are badly marketed,” said another fan.
“If they were not called a hydration break, and were called a relief break then everyone doesn’t miss a goal.
“I think we have to think about it in a new way, corporate [bodies] get what they want, we get what we want and everyone is happy.”
‘Good practice’ but ‘not great for TV’
Fans may have made their feelings known regarding hydration breaks, but they have been a welcome addition for many coaches and players.
Many national team bosses are using them to regroup and regain momentum, gathering their players to pass on instructions, while players welcome the chance to take on fluids, particularly with fixtures in tougher conditions to come.
“It is good practice to have them to prepare for New York and Boston,” England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said.
“It is still humid in the stadium, they are not going to stop happening, so we may as well get used to them and treat them as an advantage not a disadvantage.”
Defender Nico O’Reilly accepted they can useful, but would also be happy if they were not a feature.
“I don’t feel like we need them, we’ve acclimatised well,” he said.
“They’re in the tournament and we can’t do anything about it. They are a good chance to get information and take fluids on board.”
Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk watched a number of the games before playing in the 2-2 draw with Japan, and admitted that they are “not great for TV”.
Could hydration breaks be here to stay?
There has been no indication from world football’s governing body that hydration breaks are here to stay at World Cups.
They were introduced for this tournament because of the hot conditions players and fans had to contend with at last summer’s Club World Cup, played in the United States.
“It’s not two half-times, it is four quarter-times basically that we’ve got,” said France coach Didier Deschamps.
“This is what’s been decided and so the players and the coaches adapt to this new reality.”
Some supporters do believe that this new reality is something that will become the norm in the game as a whole.
“It won’t be long before it becomes just a natural advertisement break,” added an England supporter coming out of the Dallas Stadium after the defeat of Croatia.
Another one said: “I hope it doesn’t become part and parcel of the English game because it will totally ruin it.”