Hydration breaks at the 2026 World Cup have been much-maligned, accompanied by loud boos in stadiums across the United States, Mexico, and Canada as referees halt play for three minutes in the middle of each half, sometimes necessarily.

But as the knockout stages build up steam, England fans would be forgiven for jeering the stoppages more than most.

England’s post-break problem

Data collected by AceOdds shows that of the teams remaining in the tournament, Thomas Tuchel’s side has one of the worst records in the 10 minutes of play immediately following the two hydration breaks in each game.

Whatever the German has been telling his players during those impromptu tactical sessions has failed to make a positive impact, at least not immediately.

In their three group games, which contained six hydration breaks, England failed to score in the 10 minutes that followed them. At the same time, they conceded once, to Croatia’s Martin Baturina in their opening group game.

That leaves the Three Lions with a hydration break goal difference of -1.

Of the countries that reached the round of 32, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Switzerland, and Paraguay have the same numbers.

Admittedly, the sample size is small, but intriguing nevertheless.

Canada’s Marsch works his magic

Canada are the team that has most benefited from the breaks, scoring three goals and conceding none in the following 10 minutes. They are the only nation with a +3 goal difference in that period so far.

Brazil and Argentina also positive

Brazil’s stars have clearly been paying attention to Carlo Ancelotti, also finding the net three times, although they have conceded once in their round-of-32 win against Japan.

Argentina have the next-best record, with two post-hydration break goals and none conceded. Germany had been level on that score before their surprise elimination at the hands of Paraguay.

Knockout-stage trends

Of the teams that qualified for the knockout stage, only Morocco have conceded more than one goal in the 10 minutes after the breaks. They have both conceded and scored twice.

They are one of 19 countries with a better post-hydration break record than England.

Haiti (five goals conceded), Jordan, and Qatar (both three) are the countries that have conceded the most goals immediately after stoppages. Unsurprisingly, all three failed to make it through the group phase.

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