England manager Thomas Tuchel has voiced his concerns over the mandatory hydration breaks being used throughout the 2026 World Cup, admitting the stoppages are having a greater impact on matches than he initially anticipated. The 52-year-old coach, who guided England through a perfect World Cup qualifying campaign winning all eight matches without conceding a single goal, spoke ahead of his side’s second Group L fixture against Ghana in Boston on Wednesday at 21:00 BST.
Despite cool temperatures and rain forecast in Boston — a stark contrast to the air-conditioned arena in Dallas where England opened their campaign against Croatia — Tuchel confirmed the hydration breaks will remain in place regardless of weather conditions. England fans in Dallas had already begun jeering the stoppages during the first half of the Croatia match, a reaction that has quickly become customary at this tournament.
Tuchel acknowledged that while he has managed hydration breaks in previous tournaments, those instances were shorter and limited to only a handful of matches in genuinely hot conditions. He explained that the current format, applied uniformly across every game for every team, effectively splits each half into two sections. “It breaks the match almost in four quarters,” Tuchel said. “And I think it changes the characteristic of the match more than I thought.”
The England boss did concede there is a personal coaching benefit to the interruptions, noting that the breaks give him extra opportunity to communicate with his players during games. However, he made clear that his broader preference is for football to flow freely. “I like football more when it’s played in one go in one half because it builds a momentum. It’s part of the game,” he said. “It’s hard to build momentum, and it’s hard to keep the momentum, when there are breaks.”
Tuchel’s comments reflect a wider debate surrounding the tournament’s use of hydration breaks, which were introduced in the interest of fairness across all competing nations. For the England manager, though, the stoppages risk stripping away one of football’s most compelling qualities. “If you do not have a break, then it’s just like the battle on the field between the players and the teams,” he added. “It just adds to the character of the beautiful game.”
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
