The France-versus-Iraq match at the current World Cup saw a break of 2 hours and 11 minutes. Play was halted for a long time in Philadelphia because of lightning — the first time in World Cup history that play has been stopped for so long.
Play was suspended for a long period to protect the safety of players and supporters, which meant the match took about four hours to complete — the longest match in World Cup history.
The break came at 5:49 p.m. local time, but the 15-minute half-time stretched to two hours, and play did not resume until 8 p.m. Lightning was accompanied by rain and stormy winds, which prevented play from restarting. The match finally finished four hours after it had begun. France won it 3-0, with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice and Ousmane Dembele adding one.
With France leading 1-0, supporters were directed at the break to leave the stands and move to covered areas, with an announcement that a storm was approaching, bringing lightning and rain. After play had been stopped for 2 hours and 11 minutes, the organisers gave clearance for the match to resume. It had first been scheduled to restart at 7 p.m. local time, but in the end it was 8 p.m. before play got under way again.
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