Coach Chelsea Enzo Maresco waves the crowd at the end of the World Championship in the club 16 matches between Benfica and Chelsea in Charlotte, NC, Saturday 28th June 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond) Coach Chelsea Enzo Maresca criticized FIF’s decision to organize the United States World Championship after his team’s match against Benfice faced a two -hour delay at the Bank of America stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, so the game lasted almost five hours.The match was interrupted with four minutes remaining at the time of regulation, when the fans were instructed to leave the stadium seating area, which meant the sixth weather delay in the first 50 games of the tournament.“If he already suspends six, seven eight games, there is probably something that doesn’t work well,” Maresa said, adding that the United States “for this competition is not the right place.”Chelsea eventually secured 4-1 victories over Benfica in the next time, despite the Portuguese team, which managed to give a score of equalizer after a lengthy delay through a stop punishment.Captain Chelsea Reece James expressed his frustration and said “he had to sit and wait for a long time and it’s quite disturbing.”The tournament faced several challenges, including extreme heat with temperatures that reached almost 100 degrees of Fahrenheit in some places during daily matches planned for a European television audience.The widespread club championship serves as a test run for the upcoming World Championship of 48 teams in 2026, which will host jointly the United States, Canada and Mexico.FIFA faced criticism on the conditions of the course and planning of matches, along with their processing interruptions related to the weather during the tournament.In particular, despite the warning of lightning, which caused a delay in the Bank of America stadium, no real precipitation has happened at the venue.
