Saudi Arabia’s World Cup warm-up game against Puerto Rico in Texas was halted for nearly two hours because of extreme weather.<\/p>\n
The match at the Q2 Stadium in Austin was stopped in the 21st minute as thunderstorms and lightning forced players off the pitch, with messages telling fans to seek shelter.<\/p>\n
There were a number of lightning strikes before the match eventually resumed, with Saudi Arabia winning 3-0. <\/p>\n
The 2026 World Cup, which is being held across Canada, Mexico and the United States, starts on 11 June. <\/p>\n
It is taking place at the peak of the thunderstorm season in several host cities, and if a lightning strike is detected within eight miles of a stadium the game will be stopped.<\/p>\n
A mandatory 30-minute countdown then begins and, each time there is a lightning strike inside the distance, the countdown clock resets to 30 minutes again.<\/p>\n
While the Q2 stadium will not host any matches during the World Cup, two stadiums in Texas will be used during the tournament.<\/p>\n
There will be seven matches at the Houston Stadium, while the Dallas Stadium will host nine matches, including England’s group game against Croatia.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Club World Cup took place in the US and Chelsea’s last-16 tie against Benfica<\/a> in Charlotte lasted for four hours and 39 minutes as it was one of a number of games halted because of seasonal summer thunderstorms. <\/p>\n