How France and Iraq dealt with the weather delay during World Cup clash

STORM BREWING: Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring for France. Pic: Dan Mullan/Getty Images.

The weather delay during France’s World Cup clash with Iraq may have given a number of people in Ireland the opportunity to head to bed earlier than expected.

Maybe a number of other people decided to make an extra cup of tea in an effort to watch the end of the match that was finely poised at 1-0 at the time and maybe some decided it was a good chance to catch up on their favourite show.

Decisions, decisions, decisions. But what about the players themselves, who had no choice but to wait for news? What did they get up to during that prolonged period out of action.

"We played cards," joked France manager Didier Deschamps, whose side eventually ran out 3-0 winners.

"No, well, we were waiting. We had slots that kept being pushed forward again.

"I was actually having a good time with my players and having fun.

"It's a question of safety. You cannot fight against the rain and lightning.

"It doesn't annoy me. These are very special circumstances, and I do hope they don't happen again. It was important to take no risks."

Iraq's Australian head coach Graham Arnold said he used the time to go through footage of the first half with his players while fans in the stadium were ordered to seek shelter.

"It was more about the players sitting and relaxing and get themselves ready to go out there again. It was a unique experience for all of us."

But speaking to BBC sport, former West Ham assistant coach Edu Rubio, who is now assistant head coach at Sporting Kansas City, explained how they dealt with weather delays when the Hammers played a pre-season in Florida in 2024.

"Two of our four friendly games had to be delayed because of the storms," he said.

"They are very strict with that over here - and rightly so.

"Different cultures, different coaching teams have different strategies.

"You must follow the protocols, and we went back to the changing room and then they kept you updated every 20 minutes.

"What we did for the first 20 minutes was let the players relax and change into more comfortable clothes - the clothes they wear for warming up.

"They did a little bit of cycling, stretching, some of them wanted to do yoga, and then for the next 20 minutes - because the delay was for 45 minutes - we set up some football-tennis to keep them entertained and keep their minds off the issues with the weather.

"We went through two-minute clips just to remind the players. These delays could be a pain, but we kept it very simple.

"Yoga, music, a bit of relaxation. But any longer than 45 minutes, I don't know what I would do if I'm honest."