A weather warning was issued ahead of England’s warm-up match against Costa Rica in Orlando after the pitch was flooded hours before kick-off.
Weather affected England’s match in Orlando
England have announced the postponement of tonight’s friendly against Costa Rica after a weather warning was issued for their stadium in Orlando.
A weather warning was displayed on the big screen telling supporters to “evacuate” as the pitch was flooded, and after analysis of the pitch and local weather conditions, kick-off was delayed by an hour and will start at 10pm BST.
Read more: Follow our England vs Costa Rica live blog for the latest updates on the World Cup friendly.
Wednesday night’s match is England’s last before World Cup action begins against Croatia in a week’s time, but Florida has been hit by bad weather.
Mirror Football understands that locals have always believed that effective drainage of the pitch would allow the match to go ahead, but delays are always a concern due to the current lightning situation.
Extreme weather conditions experienced in the United States have been a hot topic ahead of this summer’s tournament, with lightning strikes potentially forcing players off the pitch and leading to significant delays.
This scenario was seen several times at last year’s Club World Cup in the United States, where six matches were suspended due to thunderstorms. This included the match between Chelsea and Benfica, which kicked off at 4:38pm local time and ended after 4 hours and 38 minutes.
And after the game, Blues manager Enzo Maresca questioned whether it was a wise place to hold a summer tournament in the United States, where the weather is so extreme. “Canceling seven or eight games means that the venue is probably not the right place to host this tournament,” he said.
England vs. Costa Rice match likely to be postponed due to weather conditions
Stadiums in the Gulf Coast region, where Orlando is located, and in the southeastern United States are most likely to be at risk from thunderstorms. FIFA said that if matches are cancelled, they will be played on a case-by-case basis.
Conversely, heat can also be a major factor. With temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius in some host cities, water supply is expected to be cut off, potentially affecting matches and daily training.
England ace Harry Kane played down concerns about the heat after Saturday’s win over New Zealand, insisting: “Drink breaks help. A lot of people are talking about the heat, but I don’t think it’s as big a factor as some say.”
“Me personally and some of the boys who have been training in here for a while felt good today. We’re all athletes, we’re all professionals and we’ve all played in warm weather before.”
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