Mia Hamm says she’s “not a fan” of the FIFA-mandated hydration breaks for the 2026 World Cup, arguing that the three-minute pauses could shift momentum and allow coaches to deliver information and make tactical changes mid-game.
Mia Hamm doesn’t like what hydration breaks do to the flow of a match.
As FIFA prepares to introduce mandated hydration breaks for every game of the 2026 World Cup across North America. the former U.S. women’s national team star is pointing to a specific moment she thinks changes how teams play. She’s especially skeptical of what happens at the 22-minute mark of each 45-minute half. when players will be granted a three-minute break to get water and cool off.
Hamm, who helped lead the U.S. women’s national team to World Cup titles in 1991 and 1999—when there was no such thing as hydration breaks—joined the growing criticism from players and coaches who question whether the stoppages are necessary.
She laid out her concern with particular force: hydration breaks can become a momentum swing. giving coaching staffs a rare window to reshape plans during live play. Hamm said the three-minute break can come right when teams are trying to press and attack. and then suddenly “these coaches have iPads on the sideline.” In that span. she argued. they can receive information from coaches positioned in different areas of the field and make tactical changes that could “really change the course of the way your team is playing.”.
The criticism also lands on a different idea of soccer itself. Hamm said she understands the reason FIFA and tournament planners built the breaks into the tournament structure. and she acknowledged the logic behind it. But she said she prefers the match to keep moving—so players “play 45 minutes with added time just through rather than cutting it short.”.
For her, the game’s coaching cadence matters. Hamm said soccer already includes major communication points before kickoff and at halftime. During the match, she argued, players can’t really hear coaches, so teams must handle adjustments on their own. The enforced stoppage, she suggested, disrupts that rhythm.
This is also the first World Cup where hydration breaks will be required for every match. Hydration breaks had been used previously during periods of excessive heat, but the 2026 tournament will make them a standard feature rather than a heat-dependent response.
Hamm said she expects that intent is real, even if she disagrees with the design. “I understand why they did it and why they planned it,” she said, adding that the broader role of the coach during matches is part of what she would rather see preserved.
She also used her platform to praise the U.S. men’s national team’s performance so far. Hamm said there’s “no one who supports the men’s team stronger than the women’s national team players. both current past.” She pointed to the difficulty of what the players face. and the stakes for soccer’s growth in the country. Hamm said she attended the first men’s match in Los Angeles. describing how she saw the team come out “and wanted to play hard for themselves. for their families. but for the fans that were there to participate.” She called the atmosphere “just an incredible environment.”.
Back in her home sport’s biggest stage, her stance on hydration breaks remains clear: whatever the health motivation, she doesn’t want the match’s tactical decisions reshaped by a mandated pause at 22 minutes—right when the momentum is supposed to belong to the players.
Mia Hamm hydration breaks 2026 World Cup FIFA U.S. soccer tactical changes women's national team sports news