Overview
- The World Cup requires two fixed three-minute hydration pauses in each match, the match clock keeps running and the lost time is added as stoppage.
- Broadcasters are allowed to air advertising during the pauses and some markets sell sponsorships, with examples including a McDonald’s-branded “Maccas Match Break.”
- Coaches and teams are using the interruptions for tactical instruction and regrouping, which critics say changes the flow and competitive balance of games.
- On-field confusion has already appeared, notably in the Germany–Ivory Coast match when officials and pundits disagreed about whether players could drink before the official break and a contested Pavlovic goal was disallowed after a goalkeeper collision.
- High-profile critics such as Marcelo Bielsa and players including Virgil van Dijk have publicly condemned the breaks as unnecessary and commercially driven, and FIFA has not announced any change to the rule.