The second half of France’s World Cup group match against Iraq got put on hold Thursday. And not because of a bad call or an injury. Lightning did it.
France was up 1-0 at the break in Philadelphia when officials made the call to delay the restart. The reason: a thunderstorm rolled in hard and lightning was detected less than 8 miles from the stadium. Under FIFA’s weather safety protocol, that triggers an automatic suspension.
The clock starts at 30 minutes. If no more lightning shows up within that radius, they can resume warming up and eventually get back to playing. But if another bolt hits nearby, the timer resets. It could be a long wait.
Weather had been a concern for days
This wasn’t a surprise. Forecasts had been warning about severe weather in the Philadelphia area for this game specifically. Thunderstorms, heavy rain, strong winds, and even the possibility of isolated tornadoes were all on the table. The match was never going to be a simple run-through.
Fans in the stands were asked to take shelter in concourses and covered areas. The field itself took a beating from the rain, but the bigger issue is always the lightning. FIFA’s rules are strict on this after some close calls in recent years.
This has happened before
Anyone remember the Club World Cup last summer? Chelsea and Benfica played a game that stretched past four and a half hours because of similar weather delays. The match eventually finished, but it was a mess of stop-and-start play and exhausted players.
France came into this game as heavy favorites, and Kylian Mbappé had already put them ahead before the weather took over. Now it’s just a waiting game for both sides. Iraq, to their credit, hung in there during the first half and probably welcomed the extra rest.
No official word yet on when the second half will actually kick off. The 30-minute timer is running, but one more lightning strike within 13 kilometers and the whole thing resets. The game could end late, or it could resume pretty quickly if the storm system moves through fast enough.
Either way, this group stage match just got a lot weirder. And longer.
Leave a Comment