Is FIFA’s decision to extend the World Cup break justified?

The 2026 World Cup soccer tournament is approaching its grand finale, the final between Spain and Argentina, and it is already clear that it has recorded some moments that will go down in the history of the sport. The 48 teams that participated in it make it the biggest World Cup ever, and this expanded format also gave a platform to small teams and exciting human stories. Such, for example, is the story of the goalkeeper of the Cape Verde national team, whose mother received a special visa to the United States just so she could see him play up close, after his tremendous performance against Spain.

dictation Originally published on the Davidson Institute for Science Education website

For the football mice it was a wonderful tournament, with excellent games and unforgettable dramas, in a tournament where all the big stars delivered the goods. Leo Messi looked great in the Argentina uniform and even broke the historic goalscoring record of the German Miroslav Klose. It seems that Messi’s fitness only spurred the French national team striker Kylian Mbappe to step up and put on a show, and it seems that unless something unexpected happens he will break Messi’s record in the future. Other superstars such as the English Harry Kane and the Norwegian Erling Holland proved themselves in an excellent tournament.

And of course it is impossible without Cristiano Ronaldo, who broke another record when he became the first footballer in history to score goals in six different World Cups. You can say that we were almost as enthusiastic about this World Cup as 11 Shimmy Sasson broadcast here Loved the 3:3 between Algeria and Austria.

But beyond the multitude of sporting records, it seemed that history would be made in another direction as well in the World Cup final. Last week, rumors spread about the halftime break will be significantly longer From the usual 15 minutes, in favor of a glittering showcase, starring big names like Shakira, Madonna and BTS. The decision provoked criticism, partly due to the claim that the long waiting time until returning to the game could “cool the players’ muscles”. Perhaps in response to this, FIFA clarified that the half Will not be longer than 17 minutes.

Muscles don’t lie

Why is this so important? Can a long break really harm the fitness of the players? From a scientific point of view, the fear is not unfounded. One of the most important features of the human body is heat regulation (thermoregulation) – our ability to maintain a constant body (core) temperature of about 37 degrees Celsius even in stressful situations. During intense physical activity, our muscles produce a tremendous amount thermal. So that we don’t get too hot, our body pumps blood to our skin and increases sweating. The sweat that evaporates cools the warm blood as it passes close to the surface, and when it returns inside it cools the whole body.

However, muscle temperature can actually vary significantly. That’s why fitness trainers often talk about the need to “warm up the muscle”. And it is indeed true – at rest the temperature of our muscles is 36-35 degrees, but after we do vigorous physical activity for 10-15 minutes, for example in the warm-up that soccer players do before the game, their temperature already jumps to about 39 degrees.

Why is this happening? To contract and create movement, the muscle uses ATP – the main energy molecule of the cell. During an effort, only 20-25 percent of this chemical energy is converted into mechanical work by the muscle, and the rest is released as heat. Therefore, physical activity is accompanied by an increase in muscle and body temperature. At the same time, the blood flow to the active muscles increases to feed them with oxygen and energy substances.

A high muscle temperature has several advantages: it reduces tissue viscosity, improves the mechanical properties of the muscle and tendons, and accelerates neural and biochemical processes involved in muscle contraction. The result on the field is a faster and more efficient reaction in situations that require a quick run, a change of direction or a jump to the ball.

Research in the field of sports medicine shows that as soon as muscle activity stops, they begin to cool down. The normal halftime break in a football match lasts at least 15 minutes, and according to reports, a break lasting up to twice as long was considered in the final match. Such rest may be manifested in a drop of between one and a half to two degrees in muscle temperature. The possible result is damage to the ability of the players to accelerate (sprint), pass and generate power at the beginning of the second half. There is also concern that the low muscle temperature will increase the risk of muscle and soft tissue injuries, although the evidence for this is less conclusive than that which speaks of impaired performance.

There is therefore a scientific and medical reason to limit the duration of the break. Admittedly, there are things the trainers can do to prevent the damage even in the case of a half hour break. They may instruct the players to perform a re-warm-up, which combines actions to maintain body heat during the break and perform short sprints and explosive exercises before re-entering the field. But it is likely that they breathed a sigh of relief when they realized that the break would not be significantly extended.