Chelsea vs Benfica: Lightning delays match, Enzo Maresca questions US as Membership World Cup host | Soccer Information – Instances of India

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca criticized FIFA’s resolution to host the Membership World Cup in the USA after his group’s match in opposition to Benfica confronted a two-hour delay as a consequence of lightning on Saturday at Financial institution of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, making the sport final practically 5 hours to finish.The match was interrupted with 4 minutes remaining in regulation time when followers had been instructed to go away the stadium’s seating space, marking the sixth climate delay within the match’s first 50 video games.“If they’re already suspending six, seven eight video games, most likely there’s something that’s not working nicely,” Maresca stated, including that the USA “isn’t the correct place to do that competitors.”Chelsea finally secured a 4-1 victory over Benfica in additional time, regardless of the Portuguese group managing to attain an equalizer via a stoppage-time penalty following the prolonged delay.Chelsea captain Reece James expressed his frustration, stating “needed to sit and watch for a protracted interval, and it is fairly disruptive.”The match has confronted a number of challenges, together with excessive warmth with temperatures reaching practically 100 levels Fahrenheit at some venues throughout daytime matches scheduled to accommodate European tv audiences.The expanded Membership World Cup serves as a take a look at run for the upcoming 48-team World Cup in 2026, which can be hosted collectively by the USA, Canada, and Mexico.FIFA has confronted criticism relating to pitch situations and match scheduling, together with their dealing with of weather-related interruptions all through the match.Notably, regardless of the lightning warning that brought on the delay at Financial institution of America Stadium, no precise rainfall occurred on the venue.