"This change of culture does not add anything and takes away a lot." Marcelo Bielsa doesn't do diplomatic non-answers, and on FIFA's decision to introduce hydration breaks at this World Cup, he was characteristically direct.
The breaks — three minutes in each half at the midway point — were introduced in response to the heat across host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In practice, they've carved a 90-minute sport into something resembling four quarters. Critics, including Bielsa, see that as no coincidence.
"Playing four times instead of two alters the conception of what had been culturally built to interpret football," the Uruguay coach said. He stopped short of calling it a commercial decision outright, but the implication was clear enough. Broadcasters get two-plus minutes of ad revenue per break. The sport gets an interruption to its rhythm and its identity. Whether those things are connected is left as an exercise for the reader.
Nunez under pressure ahead of Cape Verde fixture
Bielsa also had a less philosophical problem to manage: Darwin Nunez. The Liverpool striker was largely anonymous against Saudi Arabia, managing just one shot before being hauled off at halftime. He's gone 14 games without a goal for Uruguay, and the whispers about whether he starts on Sunday are getting louder.
Bielsa pushed back on the confidence angle. "Any footballer who is taking part at the World Cup doesn't need any motivation," he said, citing the scale of the tournament as enough to drive any player. That's probably true. It also doesn't fully address why Nunez has been so ineffective in a Uruguay shirt recently.
The Group C table is as tight as it gets — all four teams on one point after the opening round. Cape Verde held Spain to a 0-0 draw with a deep defensive block, the same system that frustrated Uruguay in their draw with Saudi Arabia. Bielsa acknowledged the first half against Saudi Arabia was stodgy: "a lot of possession and very few chances." Getting through a second low block in a row is the more immediate puzzle to solve.
Uruguay's odds of progressing from the group look fine on paper, but another flat performance against defensively organised opposition would make things very interesting very quickly.
