Bad weather in the 2025 Club World Cup has led to the interruption of the competition on several occasions, and next year's World Cup will also be full of thunder and lightning variables

With the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup having a series of cases of games being interrupted due to bad weather, the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup will also have a "thunderbolt variable". On the 19th Beijing time, in the first match of Group H of the Club World Cup group stage held at the TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, the match between Pachuca (Mexico) and Salzburg (Austria) was interrupted for 97 minutes due to a thunderstorm hitting the city.

Ulsan's first game postponed for 65 minutes... The match between Pachuca and Salzburg was interrupted for 97 minutes

The game was interrupted in the ninth minute of the second half, when Salzburg led 1-0, and not only the players, but also the spectators had to evacuate indoors. Due to the heavy rain, visibility in the venue was extremely reduced, and the broadcast footage captured the scene of lightning. FIFA announced the interruption of the match, stating: "The prescribed safety precautions will be adhered to and the game will resume as soon as safety can be ensured." ”

The game kick-off at 6 p.m. local time was interrupted at 7:13 p.m. and restarted at 8:50 p.m., with Salzburg eventually winning 2-1. The stadium was also used as the venue for the third match of Group F of the group stage of Ulsan HD and Borussia Dortmund (Germany), which represented the Korean K-League in this year's Club World Cup.

The stadium weather that hosted the duel between Pachuca and Salzburg

Ulsan HD has experienced a similar situation. The day before, before kick-off for the first match against Group F Mamolodi Sunset (South Africa) at Inter&co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, a lightning strike occurred nearby and the start time was delayed by 65 minutes. The organizers explained that in the United States, according to the principle commonly referred to as the "8-mile (12.9-kilometer) lightning strike rule", if a lightning strike is confirmed within 8 miles during outdoor sports activities, you should immediately take shelter in a safe place.

Accordingly, if there is no lightning strike for about 30 minutes, physical activity will resume as scheduled. If a lightning strike is found during this time, wait another 30 minutes. Ulsan's base camp in Charlotte, North Carolina, was also temporarily suspended on the 8th of this month due to heavy rain and lightning strikes.

In 2014, a lightning strike occurred in Miami, the training ground of the South Korean men's football team

Hong Myung-bo, the South Korean national soccer team that competed in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, was also evacuated after a thunderstorm warning was issued during a training camp in Miami, Florida, where he was transferred. Some analysts say that at the FIFA World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, including the United States, a year later, there will also be cases of interruptions due to lightning strikes.

In fact, Major League Soccer (MLS) also often has problems with game delays due to lightning strikes. The Ulsan players, who experienced this for the first time, also analyzed, "The delay in kick-off caused by lightning strikes had a negative impact on athletic ability. Goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo said after the match against Mamolodi Sunset: "[The late kick-off] seems to have had an impact on the game. When the concentration of the players is completely improved, we enter (locker room) again. Feeling physically low. In the locker room, we communicated how we were going to prepare. ”

On the contrary, the head coach of the 1-0 victory over Ulsan, Miguel Calduca of the Mamolodi Sunset, believes that the delay in kick-off played a positive role. That is, Cardoka did not expect Ulsan to use a back three for this game, and due to the delay in kick-off, the opponent bought time to adjust the tactics and game plan.