The 2026 World Cup has been an excellent spectacle so far.
The tournament hasn’t disappointed on the pitch, even if there have been a few issues around ticket prices, politics and broadcasting.
Speaking on his TikTok live, Toni Kroos has been discussing this World Cup, and it’s fair to say the German has enjoyed his first international tournament since retirement.
However, the former Real Madrid star did have one gripe around this World Cup, claiming that he thinks the hydration breaks are a bit annoying.
Toni Kroos finds hydration breaks annoying
The German World Cup winner spoke about the new rule regarding hydration breaks.
Kroos said that he finds these breaks a bit annoying, but he isn’t that offended by the pauses in play.
However, he did sympathise that, as a player, he would hate these breaks as they can change the course of a game.
What is your honest opinion on the hydration breaks? 💧
Should it be judged on a game-by-game basis?
“Onto these hydration breaks, which are a bit annoying, but they don’t bother me personally, to be honest.”
“Of course, as a player, you can’t really generalise, you have these dynamics in games, right? It annoys you when you ‘re on top. I think that annoys you. But when you’re under attack, you gladly take them.
“I think the coaches like it.
“At least the ones who want to change something for the team , I think they really like it, because you basically have four time windows where you can really change something.”
“One is setting it up before the game, then you can really react to what’s happened after about 20 minutes. Then you have halftime, and then you have another final phase, whether you want to defend a result or turn things around. You definitely have four opportunities to really influence the team, and I think the coaches generally like that.
“And I have to say, I find it somewhat unnecessary when you hear about 17°C drizzle and they call that a hydration break. Just say timeout, and that’s it, and everyone will get used to it. Hydration break is therefore kind of nonsense in that sense.
“But it doesn’t bother me. I mean , I don’t know, we’re all used to such long added time anyway, and whether it’s three or seven minutes, it doesn’t really matter, and if that’s what I think is right for the players, then it’s perfectly fine.”
Kroos knows better than anyone just how important momentum in football is.
Kroos was involved in the most famous game in World Cup history, the 7-1 win against Brazil, and that game would’ve been very different if there was a hydration break after 22 minutes.
That 10-minute period between 20-30 minutes in that game saw Brazil score four goals in quick succession, but if that was broken up by a hydration break and a coaching regroup, things could’ve gone differently.
Hydration breaks are a rule change that are proving to be almost universally unpopular.
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