Image source, Getty ImagesThomas Tuchel won all eight of their World Cup qualifiers without conceding a goal
ByPhil McNultyChief football writer in Boston
England head coach Thomas Tuchel has admitted he is not a fan of the controversial hydration breaks being used at the World Cup.
Tuchel, 52, was speaking before England’s second Group L game against Ghana in Boston on Wednesday (21:00 BST), where rain and cool temperatures are forecast.
England’s fans started the now customary jeering of the breaks when play was stopped in the first half of their opening game against Croatia in Dallas, despite the match being played under a roof in an air-conditioned arena.
The breaks will continue to be used in Boston irrespective of the weather, but Tuchel expressed his reservations about them and the impact they are having on games.
“I think that it interrupts and changes the identity of a football match much more than I thought. I had hydration breaks before when it was really, really hot and needed, but they were shorter,” Tuchel said.
“They were shorter and they were just in a few matches. In the interests of fairness here, it is now done in every match for every team.
“It breaks the match almost in four quarters. And I think it changes the characteristic of the match more than I thought.”
Fifa took the decision to abandon the second-half hydration break in France’s 3-0 victory over Iraq after the game was paused for more than two hours because of adverse weather.
Tuchel added: “I like it as a coach, of course, because it is good to have influence and have my team together.
“Overall, though, I think I like football more when it’s played in one go in one half because it builds a momentum. It’s part of the game.
“It’s hard to build momentum, and it’s hard to keep the momentum, when there are breaks.
“If you do not have a break, then it’s just like the battle on the field between the players and the teams. It plays out in a longer period of time. It just adds to the character of the beautiful game.”
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