ST. GALLEN, Switzerland (AP) — A World Cup warmup game between Switzerland and Jordan ended in chaos amid extreme weather on Sunday ahead of a tournament where severe thunderstorms are forecast
The match referee blew the final whistle in the 88th minute after several minutes of heavy rain pounded the field with the Swiss leading 4-1 in their last game before flying to the United States.
The Swiss squad did a lap of honor and some players completed post-game interviews before the broadcast noted the teams had been summoned by Norwegian referee Rohit Saggi and told to prepare to go back on the field and complete the 90 minutes.
The Swiss soccer federation then sent a message to international media on WhatsApp: “We will play the last minutes. Match is not over.”
Play resumed after a 15-minute delay with water slowing the ball and splashing up from puddles with every tackle. A second final whistle was blown within about three minutes.
Heavy rain and electric storms are likely at some World Cup games in the U.S. A year ago, six games at the FIFA Club World Cup were put into weather delays totaling 8½ hours.
The tight match scheduling for national broadcast networks worldwide is much more complex at a World Cup.
Switzerland dominated Sunday’s game against World Cup debutant Jordan, getting first-half goals from the penalty spot by Breel Embolo and Granit Xhaka, either side of a shot by Dan Ndoye.
Jordan cut the lead on Odeh Al Fakhouri’s strike from the outside the penalty area in the 52nd, and Swiss substitute Christian Fassnacht made it 4-1 in the 79th, just before the rain started.
On Tuesday, Switzerland heads to a training camp in San Diego to prepare for World Cup games against Qatar, Bosnia-Herzegovina and co-host Canada.
Jordan is the underdog in a World Cup group with defending champion Argentina, Austria and Algeria.
___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
