Maresca was furious that play was suspended for 113 minutes while match officials waited for the storm to pass over the Bank of America Stadium. It was the sixth storm-enforced interruption of the Club World Cup and the third delay of more than an hour.<\/p>\n
Angel Di Maria scored a controversial penalty in stoppage time following the restart to send it into extra-time and while Chelsea ultimately won, the game did not finish until 8.38pm, four hours and 38 minutes after it started.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me personally it\u2019s not football,\u201d Marseca said when asked how difficult it was to play after the stoppage. \u201cIt\u2019s already seven, eight, nine games that they suspended. It\u2019s a joke to be honest, it\u2019s not football. It\u2019s not for us. You cannot be inside. I can understand that for security reasons, you are to suspend the game. But if you suspend seven, eight games, that means it is probably not the right place to do this competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is that when the game is suspended, it\u2019s not football. Guys, it\u2019s not football. You suspend the game, it\u2019s not football. It\u2019s completely something different. So I\u2019m happy, very happy. But at the same time, there are things that you struggle to understand for two hours before the game and then go again. And you see it. They scored because they need to chase. We are inside, we are winning. You go outside, mentally different. It\u2019s difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked whether he was talking specifically about the stadium in Charlotte, Maresca said: \u201cNo, no, no. I ask you, if in this competition, they already suspended six, seven, eight games, probably there is something that is not working well. Because in a football game, it\u2019s not normal to suspend a game. This is what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when asked if the delays were damaging the competition, Maresca said: \u201cGuys, please, don\u2019t misunderstand me. I said it\u2019s a fantastic competition. It\u2019s a Club World Cup. It\u2019s top. We are happy to be in the last eight. We are happy to win all these kind of things. But something happens, six, seven games suspended, probably the one that they decide, they need a reason, because it\u2019s not normal to suspend a game. In a World Cup, how many games are suspended? Zero, probably. In Europe, how many games? Zero.\u201d<\/p>\n
Club World Cup stadia – roof or no roof?<\/p>\n
Mercedes-Benz Stadium<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Atlanta<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Retractable<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bank of America Stadium<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Charlotte<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Open<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TQL Stadium<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Cincinnati<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Canopy (covers seats but not pitch)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rose Bowl<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Pasadena<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Open<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hard Rock Stadium<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Miami<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Canopy (covers most seats but not pitch)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GEODIS Park<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Nashville<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Canopy provides partial coverage for fans<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MetLife Stadium<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
New York<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Open<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Camping World Stadium<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Orlando<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Open<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Inter&Co<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Orlando<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Canopy provides partial coverage for fans<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lincoln Financial Field<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Philadelphia<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Open<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lumen Field<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Seattle<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Partial roof covers 70% of seats but not pitch<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audi Field<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Partial roof – covers east and west sides<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chelsea posted pictures during the weather break of their players using exercise bikes and playing football in the dressing room to stay ready but Maresca suggested it was not possible to keep the usual focus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not the same game because you break the tempo,\u201d he said. \u201cSo two hours inside; people speak with the family outside, if they were good, the security. People eating, people laughing, people talking on the mobile. It\u2019s two hours. That\u2019s why I said it\u2019s not football.\u201d<\/p>\n
The victory means Chelsea will play Palmeiras at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on July 4. Win that and they will play a semi-final, and possibly a final, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, which is one of the other venues to have suffered a weather delay at the Club World Cup.<\/p>\n
How many games have been suspended at the Club World Cup because of the weather?<\/p>\n
Five Club World Cup group games had been delayed by the weather before Chelsea\u2019s match against Benfica became the first knockout match to be suspended.<\/p>\n
Ulsan and Mamelodi Sundowns in Orlando, Florida, was delayed by more than an hour<\/a> on June 17. The following day in Cincinnati, Ohio, roughly 900 miles away, Red Bull Salzburg\u2019s match against Pachuca was delayed for 97 minutes<\/a> because of severe thunderstorms.<\/p>\n Then on June 19 at MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which is the final venue for this tournament and the 2026 World Cup, the match between Palmeiras and Al Ahly was suspended briefly as flash storms rolled through the region amid scorching heat that left fans scrambling for shade and water. In nearby Central Park in Manhattan, less than 14 miles away, a 15-year-old survived after being struck by lightning.<\/p>\n The longest weather delay came when Benfica\u2019s 6-0 win over Auckland City was\u00a0held up by a two-hour weather delay<\/a> due to thunderstorms in Orlando, again. Auckland were forced off again\u00a0in their final group game against Boca Juniors at Geodis Park in Nashville<\/a>, returning from a 40-minute delay in which time the Argentinian club had been eliminated by the result in the other group game, to draw 1-1 .<\/p>\n Can we expect this to happen at the World Cup?<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-2.png\"\/)
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