The thunderstorm weather protocol was activated during the halftime of the France vs. Iraq matchup. Therefore, the start of the second half of this 2026 World Cup matchup has been delayed for 30 minutes from the moment of the first lightning detected on the surrounding area.
It was at the end of the first half that FIFA announced that the game entered a “severe weather mode.” The latest reports state that the game would remain suspended for at least another 10 minutes, where another update will be announced.
This because FIFA allows the teams to have another 15 minutes of warm-up before restarting the game between France vs. Iraq. The rain itself isn’t the issue, but the alert of possible thunder and lightning strikes are the ones causing the delay.
France vs Iraq is the first 2026 World Cup game delayed by weather
A year ago six of the Club World Cup games had delays. It’s been 11 days since the 2026 World Cup started and this is the first game suffering an unexpected halt.
The rain in Philadelphia for France-Iraq 😯
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 22, 2026
The start of the second half has been delayed due to thunderstorms. pic.twitter.com/xmMOLX0Xh4
The stadium where this game is being played is located in Philadelphia. According to NBC10‘s weather report, June is actually a time where the city enjoys a fairly pleasant weather. This thunderstorm is an anomaly at this point of the year. Lincoln Financial Stadium posted on its social media that “the game will resume when deemed safe.”
Is the France vs Iraq game in jeopardy to be rescheduled for a later date?
Given that this game kicked off at the middle window of the FIFA slate, the possibilities of France vs. Iraq being suspended and rescheduled for a later date is quite difficult. According to Fox+, FIFA will enter the adverse weather protocol every time it needs to, but the priority is to finish the game on the day it was originally scheduled.
