The World Cup tune-up match between England and Costa Rica was delayed by 60 minutes due to extreme weather in Orlando. International soccer fans could not comprehend how the match was not canceled due to the heavy rain in Florida.
It was just another Wednesday for Americans…
These kinds of moments keep happening at the World Cup and the official tournament has yet to begin! International soccer fans continue to be impressed by the most simple things we don’t even think twice about in the United States.
It is going to rain in Florida during the summer.
If you have ever visited the Sunshine State in the summer, you know what to expect. The rainy season runs from late May through mid-October. It peaks during the summer from June to August. Sea breeze collisions cause heavy, 1-2 hour thunderstorms in the afternoon on nearly every day of the week. Some days are longer. Some days are shorter.
Regardless of how long it lasts, odds are, it is going to rain.
That is exactly what happened in Orlando on Wednesday. A vicious thunderstorm rolled through the area around 1:00 p.m. and continued for ~90/120 minutes. It was a torrential downpour. Nearly 3.5 inches of rain fell in less than two hours.
Locals are prepared for this kind of flash storm. They know to stay inside until it passes. They know that the sun will come out shortly after the rain starts falling. They’re prepared to embrace the vicious humidity that follows.
The same cannot be said for out-of-towners. Especially those who are coming in from overseas for the World Cup.
England was scheduled to play a friendly against Costa Rica at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday. All of the British soccer fans who made the trip to support their team at the World Cup were forced to run for cover when the rain started to fall.
The storm was a doozy.
International fans thought the match would be canceled.
They certainly did not expect the match to be played on time because of the storm.
To some extent, they were right. It couldn’t be played at 4:00 p.m. ET because of lightning in the area.
The match was delayed by an hour— but only one hour.
England soccer fans couldn’t believe the field conditions.
Inter&Co Stadium first opened in 2017. As you could imagine, given the location, the soccer field was designed with Florida’s rainy season in mind. There is a 37,000 gallon water vault under the grass. The pitch can drain up to five inches of rain per hour.
Here is an example from 2024:
English soccer fans were pessimistic about the friendly against Costa Rica on Wednesday.
They did not think the field would be playable after such heavy rain.
The playing surface was flooded.
Soccer can’t be played on a flooded field! Why would they make an open roof stadium in Florida?
And then the rain came to a halt, which allowed the drainage system to do its job.
The standing water was practically nonexistent after about 40 minutes.
The field was still wet but not flooded.
In fact, the grounds crew even turned on the sprinklers.
Although the match was delayed by an hour, it was not because of the field conditions. There was a lightning strike in the area even after the rain had moved out of the area. That resets the clock on when the game is allowed to start/resume.
English soccer fans were highly impressed by the drainage system. It was just another Wednesday for Americans.