Fifa World Cup hydration breaks could reshape tactics for All Whites and rivals
All White Marko Stamenic takes on water.
Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Photosport.nz
Mandatory hydration breaks at the Football World Cup could change the game.
Introduced for the tournament, which kicks off in North America on 11 June, it is the first time matches will pause whatever the weather for players to rehydrate at set times.
The breaks, which will occur 22 minutes into each half, Fifa said would streamline and simplify the previous rules which required cooling breaks 30 minutes into each half when the temperature at kick-off exceeded 31 degrees Celsius.
“For every game, no matter where the games are played, no matter if there’s a roof, (or) temperature-wise, there will be a three-minute hydration break,” Manolo Zubiria, the World Cup’s chief tournament officer in the United States said.
Concerns had been raised about the temperatures players could face during matches at the tournament co-hosted by United States, Canada and Mexico and a report published last year by Football for the Future, Common Goal and Jupiter Intelligence found 10 of the 16 stadiums across the three host countries, are at very high risk of extreme heat stress conditions.
Most squads at the expanded 48-team World Cup were preparing for conditions that could dictate the way the game is played.
Dr Chis Mullington from Imperial College London said the temperatures would be “more of a performance issue than a health issue”.
“We have to remember that these players are elite athletes; they’re acclimatised. And in football events, it’s not like running a marathon or triathlon where if you slow down, you lose.
“So I think you’ll see players self-pacing. It’s really difficult to override that behavioural thermoregulation that might lead to more boring, less risk-taking football.”
The All Whites had a pre-tournament camp in Florida where temperatures were in the mid-30 degrees Celsius during training sessions over the last couple of weeks.
For midfielder Marko Stamenic the conditions in camp were a far cry from what he experienced at his club side Swansea City.
“We’re not used to anything above 20 degrees over in Wales, so to come in with the humidity and above 30 degrees was definitely difficult, but I think we’ve acclimatised by now,” Stamenic said.
Stamenic said the All Whites’ staff had “done a really good job at preparing us” for the high summer temperatures they could play in Los Angeles and Vancouver in group games during the World Cup as most players in the squad play their club football in winter, other those in A-League teams.
All White Tyler Bindon during a warm up with the All Whites.
Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Photosport.nz
“We try to emulate similar scenarios that you’ll see in a game.
“For example, playing in an 11 v 11 [on Sunday] with all of us making the pitch as big as possible and doing running, trying to acclimatise your body to the high sprint metres that you will go through in a game.
“Now we’ve still got another two weeks to make sure that we’re 100 percent match fit for this heat.”
United States coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Photo: KEVIN C. COX
Hydration breaks have been held in some games leading up to the World Cup, including the United States’ warm up game against Senegal where the Americans’ coach Mauricio Pochettino used the break as an opportunity to talk tactics and show analysis on a laptop.
The use of technology in an on-field break is not common, and may be ruled out for the World Cup, but it was an example of how the timed breaks could impact the flow of a game.
Stamenic could see the tactical advantage of the break.
“We do a lot of work off the field in terms of our relationships with each other, the way that we communicate with each other and different ways that we can communicate, especially in this heat when you’re fatigued and it’s difficult to speak.
“So the cooling break is definitely a huge asset that we’ll use during a game to be able to communicate with one another and get the information from the staff to the players especially.”
The All Whites’ first warm up game is against Haiti on Wednesday (NZT) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and will kick off in the evening local time where the forecast is for the possibility of thunderstorms and humid conditions close to 30 degrees Celsius.
New Zealand’s second warm up game will be against England in Tampa on Sunday. The England squad had also been based in Miami, Florida for a 10-day hot weather pre-tournament acclimatisation camp.
England manager Thomas Tuchel recognised the heat would not be to his side’s advantage after a long and demanding club season.
“We are not used βto β being in this kind of heat and humidity, and even altitude if we play in Mexico,” he told international media.
“There will be a lot of challenges in this World Cup. The heat is one of them but we are prepared already.
“We know the individual reaction of the players to the heat and we have cooling strategies in βplace. We’ve had help from βTeam GB and specialists β all over the world to come up with solutions that help the players to adapt.”