Why FIFA’s ‘hydration break’ sham is working out for the Socceroos
Officially, this happens because many matches in the North American summer will be played in conditions hot enough to trigger the sport’s heat policy, and because FIFA wants to be fair and reasonable to everyone in classic FIFA fashion, it has been decided that the same conditions will apply to every match regardless of the weather. Even if it’s only 22 degrees. Player welfare comes first.
In fact, these hydration breaks are imposed solely so that broadcasters have more guaranteed time to show ads. But preliminary findings suggest they are also changing the rhythm of a sport renowned for its seamless flow.
Perhaps befitting a World Cup to be held mostly in the United States, hydration breaks operate like mandatory breaks, providing coaches with two additional bonus opportunities to influence the game and establish control. It is emerging as a defining feature of the tournament.
From the Socceroos’ perspective, these breaks are almost tailor-made for them and their current circumstances; So much so that they will probably have to send a thank you to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Tony Popovic’s young squad lacks big game experience and is notorious for slow starts; The chance to reset after 22 minutes of football is like a psychological and tactical safety net.
Australia’s 1-1 draw with Switzerland was just a friendly but was played under World Cup rules so both teams were able to deal with the situation and understand the consequences.
As in last weekend’s defeat against Mexico, the match took two turns at the first drinks break: first, it halted Switzerland’s early momentum, and second, it allowed Popovic to convey a message of calm to his players and make minor adjustments to their preparations.
It worked. They were much better after that, and even better in the second half.
“This is just information,” Popovic said.
“He’s trying to make little adjustments that can help you at this level. Even for the goal we can see Kai Trewin takes a step to the right and the ball goes between him and Ale.” [Circati]. This is the detail. This is the quality you encounter. If we can make these adjustments in the game it will help us even more.
“We are very happy that the players were able to see where the space was in the second half. They were able to see the areas we talked about.”
When first asked a few months ago, Popovic refused to criticize FIFA’s decision to mandate hydration breaks, saying he was more focused on how to make the most of them. At the same press conference, he said he was ready to have a coffee with Sydney Swans coach Dean Cox and seek advice from the AFL world on how best to recover after the quarterly break.
If he does this, no one will be surprised; These are the kinds of methods Popovic can use to gain even the slightest advantage over his opponent.
His opponent, United States coach Mauricio Pochettino, is not a big fan, but he too is adjusting.
Pochettino went semi-viral for using his laptop to show footage to his players during hydration breaks in warm-up matches and crouching down in the middle of the huddle.
Pochettino thinks the best way to convey his ideas to his players is through pictures, but it is unclear whether this will be allowed at the World Cup. If it were up to him, this would never have happened.
“Of course, if the weather is very hot, I think the water break is important… but if it is not very hot and we are going to play in a stadium where the temperature is 21, 22, 23 degrees, I think there is no need to stop. The players are prepared and ready to compete for 45 minutes,” Pochettino said.
“But there are a lot of rules today… rules that I definitely don’t like. They say they’ll help the show, but we’re going in a direction that we’re going to change.”
“Because if we add, add, add rules, then football or football as we know it will cease to exist and turn into just another sport.”
