RTÉ Sport journalist
Hydration breaks have been a hot topic at this year's World Cup (pardon the pun), with Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk becoming the first player to speak about the mandatory three-minute breaks now featured in all matches, regardless of conditions, at the tournament.
FIFA announced in December that the breaks, introduced on the basis of player welfare and safety concerns, with high temperatures and humidity expected, would be compulsory in the 22nd minute of each half.
The change effectively turns matches into four quarters, a move that has riled fans, pundits and now players around the world.
In Qatar in 2022, breaks were used more regularly following their unofficial introduction at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where temperatures reached 40°C.
At the last edition, water breaks were at the referee's discretion and based on conditions.
This time, play is stopping even in air-conditioned, closed stadiums like those in Houston and Dallas as seen in two fixtures on day four.
While the emphasis on player welfare is welcomed, it is hard not to be sceptical when these pauses also create additional opportunities for advertising at a time of peak viewership.
Even in his side's 2-2 draw with Japan, Van Dijk was noticeably not feeling the heat, at least not from the weather conditions.
The Liverpool centre-back was kitted out in a matching orange long sleeve base layer or arm sleeves for the full 90 minutes he was on the pitch.
In his post-match press conference the Dutch captain audibly chuckled when asked about the hydration breaks in an indoor stadium.
Van Dijk echoed the player safety sentiment but added: "Every time going to a commercial is a bit not really that I like it. I think for the neutral watcher on TV it is also not great... I think you have to look at it in every game... I think I have said enough already."
The use of tactical boards in Japan v Netherlands was also highlighted by the RTÉ panel, with Shay Given and Didi Hamann dubbing the water breaks "tactics breaks".
"I think it's really frustrating, probably for people at home as well. It's an air-conditioned stadium, do they need a hydration break? You see the Japanese manager, he's got a tactical board out, where they're just supposed to be having a quick drink," Given vented.
He added: "It's a tactics break... It doesn't take three minutes to take a drink of water."
James McClean also weighed in citing the break in game flow as one of his gripes with the new law.
"It's ridiculous because the game is just stop start, and you have all the rules with VAR. You have all these people who've never played the game just constantly adding rules and it's not a great watch.
"Watching the game here, there's no way there's a drinks break needed for the temperatures of where we're at."
"It's ridiculous."
The panel let their frustrations known about the hydration breaks introduced at this year's World Cup.
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A tactics break, a commercial break or a break for player welfare, whatever you call it, and whatever the intentions, play is stopped and the impact on game momentum has the potential to be massive.
Brazil benefitted in their opening game against Morocco, where a re-group after a languid opening 22 minutes, saw Vinicius Junior fire home just seven minutes later.
It is likely that the benefits of the breaks for teams from a tactical perspective will be exploited more as the tournament goes on, as backroom staff refine their strategies for what is effectively a three-minute huddle.
Darragh Maloney and Ronnie Whelan who were actually in the air conditioned Houston stadium on Sunday afternoon (the rest of us are guessing) described how Danish commentators had woolly jumpers hanging over the backs of their chairs.
Whilst they didn't see them putting them on, Whelan described the temperature inside the NRG stadium in Houston as "perfect conditions to play football".
Maloney said the outside temperature was "hot" but that inside "felt at times a bit chilly".
Admittedly, the RTÉ commentating duo aren't running and sprinting the regularly quoted 10km that your average player covers in 90 minutes of soccer, but still indicative, that at least in Houston the hydration breaks might be overkill.
FIFA clarified that the hydration breaks were being standardised across all 104 World Cup matches to ensure equal conditions for all teams... or to sell more adverts?
No one can argue with enhanced welfare, dehydrated players aren't going to produce the best football. But welfare used as a guise for another FIFA commercial exercise is what's getting fans, players and pundits' backs up.
Now for the professionals' take, three minutes is more than enough time to take fluids and fuel on board, 90 seconds tops with a structured approach is ample time.
In marathons, professionals perfect drinking carbohydrate based gels and fluids on the run to boost their performance.
Now, volleying a ball with a water bottle in hand mightn't be possible, but there are massive performance benefits to perfecting the nutrition strategies used, and three minutes is an excessive amount of time when you consider how the elites fuel during a gruelling marathon.
Irish sports specialist dietitians Evan Lynch and Elle Kelly weighed in on the topic.
Lynch argues that having multiple breaks such as the ones implemented at this year's World Cup could benefit player performance and states that they may be needed regardless of conditions: "This would facilitate better performance and reduce the risk of heat exhaustion... There is a definite reason to have hydration breaks regardless of weather," Lynch said.
Kelly, who has relocated to Cyprus where she operates a virtual nutrition clinic and is familiar with exercising in soaring summer temperatures feels they may be unnecessary in cooler conditions.
"They are justified in hot and humid conditions but... Are probably overkill if players are going into games well hydrated and fuelled," Kelly stated.
"They are justified in hot and humid conditions but... Are probably overkill if players are going into games well hydrated and fuelled," Kelly stated." - Elle Kelly (Sports dietitian)
Both dietitians emphasise the need for tailored approaches for individual players and Kelly says that air temperature is just one factor to consider.
"Most experts would consider wet-bulb temperature which incorporates air temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind readings as a better estimate of physiological stress... But hydration breaks could be justified in temperatures above 28°C."
Lynch points out that big swings in temperatures e.g. if players are changing locations, competition venues (air conditioned or not) like what teams will experience in this World Cup could have negative effect if individuals aren't acclimatised.
"If someone isn't acclimatised these is an overall higher sweat rate but also glycogen burn rate... If the requirement for games and training is compounded on top of this and athlete can 'hit the wall quicker' in a hotter climate."
However, one counterpoint is that the majority of teams at the World Cup are made up of highly-trained professionals who play consistently at the highest level and some in hot countries.
Hydration breaks in extreme heat are understandable, but as Kenny Cunningham said on the preview episode of the RTÉ Soccer Podcast: "It's a physical contest... Why are we stopping the game when people get tired? This is where the game is going and this might be the tipping point."
Watch every game of the FIFA 2026 World Cup live on RTÉ 2 with highlights on RTÉ Sport digital platforms RTÉ Player. Live blogs on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
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Source: RTE
