Overview
- Each match will include two three-minute hydration breaks, one in each half, applied regardless of weather.
- Referees will stop play 22 minutes after the start of each period and will use the whistle to start and end the breaks.
- The procedure mirrors the cooling-break model used at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
- FIFA frames the policy as a player-welfare measure for a longer, expanded tournament compared with prior 32-team editions.
- The 2026 World Cup runs from 11 June to 19 July across the United States, Mexico and Canada, with the draw and full match calendar already released.