Wenger: World Cup 2026 Hydration Breaks Didn’t Affect Games

Arsène Wenger disclosed that the mandatory three-minute hydration breaks introduced at the FIFA World Cup 2026 split opinions and will be reviewed by FIFA post-tournament. While some coaches praised the breaks for player welfare, critics argued they disrupted match momentum and served as unscripted commercial slots for broadcasters.

FIFA mandated the three-minute pauses midway through each half across all matches at the North American tournament, regardless of the climate or if games were played in covered stadiums. Wenger, FIFA's chief of global football development, noted that fans and certain coaches, such as Uruguay's Marcelo Bielsa, expressed unhappiness with the interruptions, viewing them as disruptions that cut the game into four quarters.

Despite the backlash, Wenger stated that early data analysis suggested the breaks did not ultimately change the results or outcomes of the competition. "No, sometimes people didn’t like it and we have to analyse after the World Cup what is the impact," Wenger said during a news conference on Saturday. "It didn’t look to me that it changed the results of the competitions. But we are here to serve people who watch football and we will come to the conclusions after the competition.

"In some games, it was really needed and because we want to make any difference between the way games are handled, we decided at the start of the competition to do it. We will have a deep analysis after the competition."

FIFA plans to conduct a full post-tournament evaluation to weigh the player welfare benefits against the impacts on game flow and fan experience before determining their future.