Weather delays could give FIFA a headache in the final round of World Cup group games.
The last two matches in each group will take place between Wednesday evening and the early hours of Sunday morning BST, with dozens of teams’ fate still to be decided.
reports that FIFA does not have a plan in place if any matches in the final round of group fixtures are delayed by weather, which could give certain teams an advantage.
On Monday night, France’s 3-0 win over Iraq in Philadelphia was hit by heavy rain and subject to a two-hour delay at half-time, because the Group I clash could not be safely restarted until the threat of thunderstorms had cleared.
But if the same thing happened in the final round of games, the other fixture in that group would not be paused to ensure both finished at the same time – meaning that the teams involved in the delayed match would know what they needed to do to qualify.
Meanwhile, if a game was abandoned due to bad weather, World Cup regulations state that it would restart on a future date from the minute that the match paused – allowing the two teams to tweak their game plans accordingly.
The unusual situation could impact England and Scotland, who are both looking to secure qualification for the knockout phase in their final group game.
The Three Lions’ Group L clash with Panama in New Jersey kicks-off at 10pm BST on Saturday, the same time as Croatia’s match against Ghana in Philadelphia, with Thomas Tuchel’s men above the African side only on goal difference at the top of Group L.
Meanwhile, Scotland face Brazil in Miami at 11pm BST tonight and are third in Group C, one point behind second-placed Morocco, who face Haiti in Atlanta.