World Cup 2026, now it’s the weather that’s rattling the U.S.: several games at risk
Another heavy unknown weighs on World Cup 2026, set to begin on Thursday, June 11, with a tail of controversy that has been dragging on for months. The new, very heavy concern concerns weather conditions, which even before the first whistle blows are likely to result in numerous suspensions of as many matches. And a preview in this regard came on Wednesday at the friendly match in Orlando between England and Costa Rica.
The match, hosted by the Inter&Co Stadium, had a scheduled start time of 10 p.m. Italian time but started more than an hour late. The reason is quickly stated: the heavy weather that occurred in Orlando, complete with a thunderstorm that hit the field. The real problem, however, was not heavy rain, but lightning: a Florida classic, but one that U.S. law treats with enormous caution. And this very one could fall like a hurricane, this time metaphorical, on the 2026 World Cup.
The protocol of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in this regard speaks clearly: in the presence of lightning, any sporting event held outdoors in the surrounding 12.7 km must necessarily be stopped. The suspension, in that case, would last half an hour and restart from scratch in the presence of another lightning strike. This very law had put at risk the Miami Grand Prix, held last May and itself ended up in the balance due to Florida’s weather hazards. It should also be recalled that the 2025 Club Football World Cup, also held in the States, saw the suspension of as many as six matches in all because of “anti-lightning legislation.”
The weather issue thus adds to a range of controversies and concerns that have been accompanying these World Cups since the eve of the event. On the non-sports front, the issue of visas and denied entry at U.S. borders has been the main focus: from the case of Iran, with some key staff figures initially blocked, to the episode that has caused the most stir, namely the rejection of Somali referee Omar Artan, who was awarded the 2025 African best match director of the year and selected by FIFA among the 52 whistles for the final phase. Despite holding a regular visa, Artan was sent back to Turkey because of the visa suspension imposed by the Trump administration for 75 countries, including Somalia, becoming despite himself a symbol of the political tensions poisoning the atmosphere around the event.
To act as an international sounding board for these controversies was the French sports daily ‘L’Équipe,’ which in its June 10 edition dedicated its front page to a vitriolic cover titled “Welcome to the USA”: Donald Trump portrayed with the “FIFA Peace Prize” medal around his neck, the World Cup in one hand and FIFA President Gianni Infantino turned into a puppet in the other, with referee Artan and a masked ICE agent on either side. An image that immediately went around the world, photographing with satirical brutality the tense climate in which a World Cup opens that, amidst lurking lightning and diplomatic controversy, seems destined to be discussed longer off the field than on it.
