MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, was briefly cleared during a downpour about four hours before Norway and Senegal were due to meet in a World Cup match on Monday night, with possible flooding in the forecast and roads to the ground already holding standing water.

The US National Weather Service issued a flood watch for parts of New York City and New Jersey, including Bergen County, where the stadium sits. It said showers and possible thunderstorms could bring up to around 2 inches of rain per hour, raising the risk of flash flooding in urban and poor drainage areas.

Match officials and city advice

World Cup rules do not cover weather conditions that would delay the start of matches or stop play. FIFA said it would keep watching conditions in real time and would use its contingency protocols if extreme weather occurred, while working with host governments, medical experts and emergency authorities.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, in his latest video update during the tournament, told ticket-holders to leave for the stadium at least four hours before kickoff. He said, “Do not underestimate the weather,” and warned that thunderstorms could be severe and winds strong.

New York City Emergency Management had already issued a travel advisory earlier on Monday. Mamdani also said, “I’m urging everyone to plan ahead and give themselves extra time to travel safely. No destination is worth risking your safety. If conditions become severe, stay indoors and wait until it’s safe to travel.”

Stadium and tournament context

The open-air venue opened in 2010, seats about 80,000, and was built over steel pilings in the New Jersey marshlands. There have been no weather delays in the first 11 days of the tournament. At last year’s Club World Cup in the US, six of 63 games were delayed for a total of 8 hours, 29 minutes.

World Cup regulations say that if a match is abandoned after kick-off because of force majeure, it will restart at the minute play stopped, with the same scoreline. FIFA also says it may cancel, reschedule or move matches, or the whole FIFA World Cup 26, for force majeure or health, safety or security reasons.