FIFA hydration breaks spark backlash and blamed for killing momentum at World Cup

Curacao fans went wild. The Germans were in shock.

Livano Comenencia had scored a goal for the smallest nation by population to ever qualify for the World Cup against four-time champion Germany.

At 1-1 in Houston a famous upset looked possible.

Then came the hydration break.

Curacao lost the initiative, conceding two goals before halftime in what eventually became a 7-1 defeat to the Germans.

"I actually felt sorry for them," former England striker Alan Shearer told The Rest is Football podcast. "They scored and then it was maybe 30 seconds after that it stopped. So it's killed their momentum."

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FIFA's new hydration breaks midway through each half — a novelty for this World Cup — were introduced to help players deal with the summer heat in the United States, Canada and Mexico. But critics say they're having unintended consequences, ruining the flow of the game and giving coaches a chance to tactically shift momentum in their team's favour.

While player welfare is a real concern with temperatures expected to exceed 90 F (32 C) in the hottest World Cup venues, some say the hydration breaks are just an excuse for broadcasters to go to commercials in the middle of the game.

"We're in America, right? So, it's like it is a timeout," former Ireland international Roy Keane said on The Overlap, a podcast that he co-hosts with long-time Manchester United teammate Gary Neville. "We love football because of the pace of the game ... what it's doing is stopping the flow of the game, the momentum."

Rather than players merely taking on fluids, coaches have been seizing the opportunity to pass on in-game tactical instructions that would normally