A quote that will stick with me on the water breaks at the World Cup came from Marcelo Bielsa. He said “before this decision, football had one characteristic, and now it has another. People fall in love with the game because of its characteristics.”

Marcelo Bielsa, Uruguay manager:

“I saw that there are a huge number of goals. It wasn’t with that goal in mind, but according to the generalized opinion, playing four quarters instead of two half’s the conception that had been culturally constructed to interpret football.

“The number of goals is welcome. This change in the culture for interpreting football doesn’t add anything and takes away a lot. Obviously, when it was divided into [four quarters], they didn’t think about the effect it could have on what made football a sport that captivates, you get me? But rather, they thought about another type of repercussions that I don’t discuss or analyze.

“I’m simply saying that before this decision, football had one characteristic, and now it has another. People fall in love with the game because of its characteristics.”

Lionel Scaloni, Argentina manager:

“There’s no easy match. In this World Cup there are more matches, but the group stage has always been tough for everyone.

“The heat conditions, constantly stopping the match, ends up giving a hand to the theoretically somewhat weaker team. They have time to recover and prepare things that maybe they didn’t have before. It’s been done to have more time and in the end the match ends up getting a bit choppy.

“The interruption in the middle of each half almost feels unreal. Sometimes we only have about three minutes to talk to the players at halftime, and here we get almost the same amount of time.

“The idea that football is played in four periods is actually real.

“Everything I have in my head can change based on what happens in those 22 to 23 minutes. We have people up top analyzing the match and us sitting on the bench. We look for solutions and do what’s done in a normal halftime. Sometimes I get confused saying it’s only for the weaker rival; it also gives the team that wants to attack time to adjust.

“It feels weird adapting to that. I imagine that in time, if it keeps being done, it’ll become something normal like all the things that have been made almost normal. This still isn’t normal for us; it makes things pretty choppy.

There are times when matches shift from one way to another in the same period just because of this, because they’re there to make corrections. I understand it’ll get better. There are people who analyze and show computers or tablets. We go more for the one-on-one and talking. Everyone has their own little playbook.”

Gustavo Alfaro, Paraguay manager:

“It’s a commercial break, not a hydration break. The game is getting out of hand.”

Didier Deschamps, France manager:

“It’s not two half times, it is four quarter times basically that we’ve got.”

Rudi Garcia, Belgium manager:

“For me, it’s a coaching break more than a cooling break.”

Javier Aguirre, Mexico manager:

“We take advantage of the rules.”

Alluding to the fact the breaks let coaches give instructions while players drink water and make it easier than shouting across the pitch.

Ronald Koeman, Netherlands manager:

“You can use the break to tell the players what they need to improve or what is good or what they should do better.”

Mauricio Pochettino, United States manager:

“To be honest I don’t like [them].

“[They] cut the rhythm.”

He has said they only make sense where player health required them.

Staale Solbakken, Norway manager:

“I can understand it when it’s like it’s been in Greensboro […] then I think it’s fine. But I don’t like it otherwise.”

Luis de la Fuente, Spain manager:

“Pause, freshen up and continue.”

Néstor Lorenzo, Colombia manager:

Lorenzo said hydration breaks are justified in 30–35°C heat, but when they stretch several minutes they “lose the true essence” and become “commercial breaks.”

Thomas Christiansen, Panama manager:

“If you (have) a break, it’s to do corrections.”

Murat Yakin, Switzerland manager

“That’s why I waited for the hydration break. This was the right decision today.”

Virgil van Dijk, Netherlands captain:

“Every time going to a commercial is a bit […] not really [something] that I like.”

He added that it is “also not great” for neutral viewers, though useful if conditions are truly hot.

Youri Tielemans, Belgium midfielder:

“As a player, it can work both ways.”

He said some cities may not need the breaks, but if FIFA applies them in some matches, it should apply them to all for consistency.

Mikel Merino, Spain midfielder:

Merino said the pauses will be “definitely not necessary” in some games, slow the match down, and let coaches change the dynamic.

I am starting to feel the water break fatigue. I’m in between Scaloni and Tielemans.

I agree that it doesn’t add or subtract, but I like that it is applied to every match because it creates that consistency, the rhythm of the game is the same in every match.

England for example are currently slated to play in Atlanta in the round of 32, under a retractable roof. If they win, they are projected to play Mexico at the humid Estadio Azteca in the round of 16. You need to be in the full rhythm of the game to match the energy the Mexico players and fans will bring in that stadium, who have played every match in Mexico, in the hot open air.

But I’m surprised Scaloni said the amount of time they get during the half is the same amount of time they get during the water break.

It feels like it consistently kills momentum for the team who has more control rather than simply flipping momentum between teams. If neither team has control, it’s just a commercial break that only subtracts because it’s an unnecessary break in play.

All of the semi-final matches will be played at stadiums with a retractable roof, in air conditioning. The final will be played at Metlife Stadium in New York, and the average temperature over the past 10 years is 80.5°F / 26.9°C.