U.S. — The 2026 World Cup introduced mandatory hydration breaks in every match, marking the first time FIFA has incorporated such a policy throughout the tournament. FIFA President Gianni Infantino discussed the decision in an interview with Jenny Taft.

Each hydration break is a three-minute stoppage implemented at the midpoint of each half, allowing players to regroup on the sideline for water. This policy extends to every game in the tournament, regardless of local temperature or environmental conditions. This differs from the previous year's FIFA Club World Cup, also held in the U.S., where hydration breaks were only implemented in approximately 60% of matches that featured particularly hot conditions.

Infantino stated that the decision to mandate breaks in every game was made to ensure consistent conditions for all teams throughout the tournament. "I know there's a lot of talk around these hydration breaks, and the truth of the matter is — that last year, we organized the FIFA Club World Cup here in the U.S., the first edition, and with the hydration breaks, as it was seen at the time, only for those matches where it was particularly hot," Infantino said. "So, we determined — well before the tournament, and we communicated this as well — that every game should have hydration breaks. Why? So that every team throughout the tournament has exactly the same conditions."

The 2026 World Cup features an expanded format of 104 games, an increase from 64 games in the previous format. The tournament spans 39 days, and teams must play eight games to win the World Cup. FIFA plans to evaluate the impact of these hydration breaks after the tournament to determine their effect on the flow of the game. "We, of course, will analyze after the World Cup, whether it was good or bad," Infantino said.