In the Czech match, the Korea men's national soccer team's first game at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, fans will see something different from the familiar 90-minute match. That is because a hydration break that pauses the game for three minutes midway through each half will be applied.
According to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) on the 12th, this North and Central America World Cup will operate three-minute hydration breaks in both halves. The referee will stop play around the 22nd minute of the first half and the 22nd minute of the second half, and players will replenish fluids during that time. It applies to all matches regardless of weather or temperature conditions.
The Korea men's national soccer team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, will play its Group A opener against the Czech Republic at 11 a.m. at Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico. The match is both the national team's first game of the tournament and a stage for domestic fans to see the changed World Cup operations firsthand.
FIFA's stated reason is player protection. This World Cup is co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Because the tournament is held in the North American summer, some host cities could face high temperatures. Instead of granting breaks in only some matches, FIFA expanded hydration breaks to all matches to apply the same conditions to every team.
Soccer traditionally consists of 45 minutes in the first half and 45 minutes in the second. But in this tournament, play will be stopped once midway through each half. From the spectators' perspective, the match will effectively be divided into the first segment of the first half, the latter segment of the first half, the first segment of the second half, and the latter segment of the second half.
However, the official match time is not changing to a four-quarter system. The game clock will keep running, and time used for hydration breaks will be added to stoppage time. Because each half includes a three-minute break, the actual finish time could be later than before.
This World Cup has also changed significantly in scale. FIFA expanded the 32-team finals format, maintained since the 1998 France World Cup, to 48 teams starting with the 2026 tournament. The total number of matches also increased from 64 to 104. As more countries enter the World Cup finals, opportunities for broadcast rights, ticket sales, and sponsor exposure have grown as well.
Rules to reduce delays have also been strengthened. In throw-in or goal-kick situations, if the referee deems there is time-wasting, a five-second countdown may be used. If play does not resume when time expires, the throw-in will go to the opposing team, and a delayed goal kick may be changed to a corner kick for the opposing team.
Substitutions must also speed up. If the player being replaced does not leave the field within 10 seconds after the substitution board is shown, the incoming player's entry may be delayed. A player who received on-field treatment after play was stopped for an injury must, barring an exception, leave the field and remain off for a set period.
The scope of video assistant referee (VAR) reviews will also be partly expanded. Under tournament rules, incidents such as a clearly incorrect second-yellow sending off, disciplinary action due to mistaken identity, or an incorrectly awarded corner kick may be subject to VAR review.
Hydration breaks are also creating new opportunities in the advertising market. According to Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation (KOBACO), advertising for the Korea-Czech Republic opener carried by KBS sold out at about 6 billion won. Virtual ads worth 3.4 billion won were also sold early, and the newly introduced hydration break ads were reportedly snapped up early as well. Virtual ads are those inserted into the broadcast with computer graphics (CG).