Diego Maradona once warned about a feature of this year’s World Cup, and the 2026 tournament has given his old comments new life.
The Argentina icon, forever linked with his country’s 1986 World Cup triumph and the notorious ‘Hand of God’ goal, spoke in 2018 about the decision to stage the competition across the US, Canada and Mexico.
Before his death in 2020, Maradona made it clear he was unhappy about the idea of the US hosting matches, and one particular concern he raised now looks especially relevant.
He was referring to the much-debated ‘hydration breaks’ introduced by FIFA during games.
FIFA has since confirmed that at the 2026 World Cup, players will get three-minute hydration breaks in both halves of every match, with no weather or temperature condition attached. The referee stops play at the 22-minute mark of each half, making the pause a built-in feature of every game in the tournament.
Those stoppages, which pause play for several minutes, have drawn criticism from supporters and commentators.
While the official explanation is that they give players a chance to take on water, critics have argued that the breaks also create a convenient window for broadcasters to run more commercials.
Speaking about the host nations, Maradona said: “There’s no passion.The Canadians may be good skiers, and the Americans wanted to have four periods of 25 [minutes] for the advertising.”
In a longer version of the same criticism, he suggested the game could be split into four 25-minute periods so that there would be more room for advertising.
That complaint looks even more pointed now that FIFA has standardized hydration breaks for every match at the 2026 tournament.
FIFA had already used water breaks at previous tournaments when conditions were hot, but in 2026 the pauses are compulsory regardless of the weather. The governing body has framed the change as a player-welfare measure, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said the organization wants the system to be fair for all teams in all venues.
Maradona’s other comment about Mexico was less flattering, but it has not aged as neatly.
He also said: “Mexico doesn’t deserve it. The Mexicans come up against Brazil or Germany… and ‘boom,’ they’re out.”
At the 2026 tournament, Mexico has already pushed past that old stereotype and advanced from the group stage, while Brazil and Germany have also remained in contention.
For now, then, Maradona’s advertising prediction is the part of his 2018 warning that looks most prescient.
Number of goals: 19
World Cups: Six – 2006 (one goal), 2010 (no goals), 2014 (four goals), 2018 (one goal), 2022 (seven goals), 2026 (six goals at time of writing)
Number of matches played: 29
Number of goals: 16
World Cups: Three – 2018 (four goals), 2022 (eight goals), 2026 (four goals at time of writing)
Number of matches played: 17
Number of goals: 16
World Cups: Four – 2002 (five goals), 2006 (five goals), 2010 (four goals), 2014 (two goals)
Number of matches played: 24
Number of goals: 15
World Cups: Four – 1994 (no goals), 1998 (four goals), 2002 (eight goals), 2006 (three goals)
Number of matches played: 19
Number of goals: 14
World Cups: Two – 1970 (10 goals), 1974 (four goals)
Number of matches played: 13
Number of goals: 13
World Cups: One – 1958
Number of matches played: Six
Number of goals: 12
World Cups: Four – 1958 (six goals), 1962 (one goal), 1966 (one goal), 1970 (four goals)
Number of matches played: 14
Number of goals: 11