3 min readJun 23, 2026 05:19 PM IST
England manager Thomas Tuchel has voiced his discomfort with the hydration breaks being used at the ongoing World Cup, arguing that they are altering the natural rhythm and flow of matches more than he initially expected.
Speaking ahead of England’s second Group L fixture against Ghana in Boston on Tuesday night, Tuchel said the interruptions – introduced to help players cope with extreme heat in certain venues – were now being applied too uniformly across matches, regardless of actual conditions. Forecasts suggest rain and relatively mild temperatures for the upcoming game, yet the stoppages are still expected to be enforced.
“I think that it interrupts and changes the identity of a football match much more than I thought,” Tuchel said.
“I had hydration breaks before when it was really, really hot and needed, but they were shorter. They were shorter, and they were just in a few matches. In the interests of fairness here, it is now done in every match for every team,” he added.
The 52-year-old argued that momentum is one of football’s defining features and that the stoppages fundamentally alter the structure of matches, creating multiple pauses where pressure and rhythm would otherwise develop naturally.
“It breaks the match almost in four quarters. And I think it changes the characteristic of the match more than I thought,” he said.
“It’s hard to build momentum, and it’s hard to keep the momentum, when there are breaks.”
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Although Tuchel is unconvinced about the effect the breaks are having on the spectacle, he admitted there are benefits from a coaching perspective. The stoppages provide managers with an opportunity to relay instructions, make tactical adjustments and regroup players during the match.
“I like it as a coach, of course, because it is good to have influence and have my team together,” he said.
Yet the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager maintained that those advantages come at a cost, arguing that the sport is at its best when contests unfold continuously without outside intervention.
“Overall, though, I think 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,” Tuchel said.
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“If you do not have a break, then it’s just like the battle on the field between the players and the teams. It plays out in a longer period of time. It just adds to the character of the beautiful game.”
