Argentina's Scaloni: Hydration breaks fragments the game

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said that “there are no easy games” at the World Cup and listed the newly-introduced hydration break as one of the things that make the conditions even more difficult.

The world champions are preparing for their second group stage match against Austria on Monday after kicking off the tournament with Lionel Messi‘s hat-trick in the 3-0 win against Algeria.

“There are no easy games, especially in the group stage. Historically, but now also with the 48-team format, the group stage has always been hard,” Scaloni said in a news conference on Sunday.

“Now with the conditions of the heat and the hydration break. The game is stopped constantly.”

Football governing body FIFA introduced the hydration break out of concern for the players’ physical strain. In each half, the referee is supposed to pause the game for three minutes after 22 minutes of play.

The format effectively turns the two halves into a four-quarter format, one that US citizens are very familiar with from other sports such as basketball and American football.

“In the end, it’s done to have more time, but it fragments the game. It’s four quarters then in the half-time we have just three minutes to talk to players between them coming in and going back. The ‘four-period’ concept is real,” Scaloni said.

“It feels strange adapting to this. Eventually, it will become the norm, just like any other improvement. For now, it feels unusual because the flow is so broken up.”

Some coaches have made a positive assessment of the break because it allows them to exert more influence on the game.

Argentina top Group J ahead of Austria but are tied on three points with their next opponents.