The hydration breaks during each half of matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup was a topic of discussion going into the tournament and continues to be one after it has gotten underway. Netherlands captain Virgil Van Dijk said after their opening match of the tournament against Japan that he understood why viewers may not like and it may not be needed in every match either. “I think hydration breaks are really interesting. I was obviously watching almost all of the games up until today. I think every time going to commercials is a bit, not really something that I like,” Van Dijk told reporters after the thrilling 1-1 draw. “I think for the neutral watchers on TV it is also not great. So if it is really hot it would be good to put them in but I think you have to look at it in every game, separately, in my opinion. But I think I have said enough already on that.” Van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville were the scorers for the Dutch but Japan came back from behind twice. The match thus finished in a 2-2 draw, despite the Netherlands looking set to take three points for large parts of the match. Coach Ronald Koeman came under scrutiny after making a triple substitution six minutes after Summerville restored the Netherlands’ lead in the 64th minute. The Dutch manager later reinforced his defence by introducing a third centre-back, but Japan responded strongly and eventually found an equaliser after sustained pressure. Despite the outcome, Koeman refused to second-guess his decisions. “There was also a problem with pressure on the flanks. So if you look at the game, both goals, well, we didn’t defend well,” he told reporters after the match, according to Reuters. “Football is a funny game because, after Japan scored the second goal, they started defending as well. So we could have scored a third goal. So I don’t regret my choices,” he added.
Hydration break ‘not really something I like’ says Netherlands captain Van Dijk
