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“I was obviously watching almost all of the games up until today. I think every time going to commercials is not really something that I like,” added the Liverpool defender.

Van Dijk’s concerns echo those of his former club manager Jurgen Klopp. The German master tactician had launched a far more scathing attack, accusing “executives in air-conditioned offices of holding the game hostage” while speaking to German television channel ZDF.

Stripping away the corporate side of things, US women’s national team manager Emma Hayes focused purely on the psychological impact, branding them “momentum breaks” that are only welcomed by teams chasing a game.

On a similar note, former Spain midfielder and World Cup-winner Juan Mata suggested players universally prefer matches to flow uninterrupted. “When you’re losing, you want to score, and when you’re winning you want to keep the ball. I think they break the momentum,” Mata told ITV Sport.

Yet, the policy does not lack defenders. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente remains highly supportive of the measure, arguing that player welfare must remain paramount. “In my opinion, the best thing to do is to drink lots of water,” De la Fuente said. “Take a break, let them breathe for a few seconds.”

But where De la Fuente sees a rest, others see an opportunity. US coach Mauricio Pochettino turned a simple water stop into a high-tech touchline seminar during his side’s 4-1 win over Paraguay, deploying a laptop in full force to deliver instructions. Beyond the debate, the breaks have already influenced matches.

Brazil provided perhaps the clearest example. Trailing Morocco 1-0, coach Carlo Ancelotti used a hydration break to reorganise his side and deliver fresh instructions. Within minutes of the restart, Vinicius Junior had equalised. “You can explain a problem to the players,” Ancelotti said afterwards. “You can make a tactical adjustment that can be very good.”

Canada also equalised shortly after a second-half cooling break against Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Scotland and Australia both scored decisive goals soon after play resumed in their opening matches.

Others have found themselves on the wrong side of the interruptions. Debutants Curacao matched Germany before such a break in the first half, only to concede three more soon after and eventually losing 7-1. Czechia lost momentum against South Korea following a stoppage, while the Netherlands surrendered a lead against Japan after the second-half hydration break.

Whether viewed as hydration breaks, cooling breaks or, as Hayes calls them, momentum breaks, the traditional, uninterrupted flow of World Cup football is facing a profound existential threat.

And it is no longer just the water bottles causing the friction. The expanding use of lengthy Video Assistant Referee (VAR) reviews, often stretching several minutes at key match-defining moments, has added another heavy layer of interruption.

Will this compounding slowdown change the sport for good, or for the better?