England head coach Thomas Tuchel says the thunderstorm delay to their warm-up match against Costa Rica gave the squad a “little taste of what can happen” in the United States.
The match in Orlando, Florida, was originally scheduled to kick off at 21:00 BST but was pushed back a full hour after heavy rain and lightning swept through the area.
Fans already inside the Inter&Co Stadium were told to evacuate the stands and shelter in the concourses to reduce their risk of being struck by lightning.
Under rules set by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, any lightning strike detected within eight miles of a stadium triggers a mandatory 30-minute countdown before play can resume.
Each additional lightning strike within that distance resets the countdown clock to 30 minutes, meaning delays can compound rapidly depending on storm conditions.
Tuchel played down the disruption before kick-off, telling ITV: “We were aware of that before – now we experience it. It should not be an excuse to lose our mood or patience or to lose our hunger to play the game.”
The England head coach added: “No problem at all. We realised it when we were still at the hotel so it was easy. We just said half an hour later in the bus and let’s go.”
This was not an isolated incident, with the warm-up game between Saudi Arabia and Puerto Rico in Austin, Texas, stopped for almost two hours the previous week after thunderstorms and lightning forced players from the pitch in the 21st minute.
Former Scotland defender Rachel Corsie, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, offered a perspective shaped by personal experience: “It might not be the worst thing to experience. My experience when I played in America it happened almost every weekend.”
Corsie also highlighted the psychological toll that disruptions can cause, saying: “The bit I hated the most was the fuelling part and the psychology of the fuelling. The routine and what you eat is big psychologically to your preparation.”
Ex-England captain Steph Houghton acknowledged this had always been a potential issue, noting: “I think that was one of the question marks of the World Cup being in America, Canada and Mexico. There was the potential storms could affect the rhythm of the game.”
British fans got their first real taste of these problems during last year’s Fifa Club World Cup, when six matches were halted due to electrical storms across the United States.
The most dramatic example involved Chelsea’s match against Benfica in Charlotte, North Carolina, which was suspended in the 86th minute and took four hours and 38 minutes to complete in total.
Then-Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca was scathing in his assessment afterwards, saying: “It’s a joke – this is not football. If you suspend seven, eight games, that means that probably is not the right place to do this competition.”
Scotland face a particularly daunting scenario, with their group-stage fixture against Haiti scheduled for 02:00 BST on 14 June, meaning even a short delay could push the game beyond the reach of many supporters watching from home.
England’s group-stage matches are scheduled for 21:00 and 22:00 BST, making the impact of any delays less severe for their fanbase, though far from negligible.
Their group game against Croatia will be held at the Dallas Stadium, which benefits from a retractable roof, offering some protection against the worst of the conditions.
With the 2026 World Cup falling during peak thunderstorm season across several host cities, further stoppages look almost certain before the tournament reaches its conclusion.
