Media analysts believe FIFA's lucrative hydration breaks are here to stay

Taylor Twellman has a unique perspective when it comes to the Great Hydration Debate that has stirred up controversy at this year’s World Cup. 

The American soccer announcer is the lead match analyst for Apple TV’s coverage of MLS and spent more than a decade as ESPN’s lead soccer analyst. He has broadcast three World Cups, three European Championships, eight MLS Cups and developed a reputation as a passionate pundit with analytical bona fides. Twellman is someone who understands very well why World Cup broadcasters would jump at the chance to sell additional commercial inventory for the world’s biggest soccer tournament. 

But then comes his other side: If you are a soccer fan over the age of 35, you might remember Twellman as a player. He scored 101 goals in 174 matches for the New England Revolution of MLS and became the youngest player in that league’s history to hit the 100‑goal mark. 

Naturally, Twellman has thoughts on one of the heated debates of the World Cup. He has zero problems with hydration breaks in soccer if the temperature and humidity reaches a certain threshold. He cited a memorable 2-2 draw between the U.S. and Portugal during the 2014 World Cup in Manaus, Brazil. At the start of that steamy match, FIFA listed the temperature at 30 degrees Celsius with 66 per cent humidity. 

“That’s an example of when you needed a hydration break,” Twellman said. “Matches that become about the players’s welfare. But when it’s not used for something in that fashion, you really kill rhythm and momentum. Take, for instance, when Ghana played Panama in Toronto. It was 60-something degrees (Fahrenheit). That doesn't make sense to me to have a hydration break there.”

Here's why hydration breaks are stirring up controversy at