- ANTARA FOTO/Wahyu Putro A/YU
Bandung – Bad weather conditions in the Greater Bandung area affected the Group D preliminary round matches of the 2023 U-17 World Cup. Several matches were postponed due to weather problem.
Earlier, in the first match between Japan and Poland at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium on last Saturday, the match had to be postponed when entering the 63rd minute due to heavy rain accompanied by lightning.
At that time, the position was still tied 0-0 and the match was stopped for 15 minutes. The referee was forced to temporarily stop the match due to weather conditions which could have endangered the safety of everyone in the stadium.
Trofi Piala Dunia U-17
- VIVA/Dede Idrus
However, after the weather conditions were deemed safe the match resumed. Japan finally managed to win its first victory after winning 1-0 over Poland through a goal scored by Rento Takaoka in the 77th minute.
The same thing happened again during Senegal's match against Poland, at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium on Tuesday. The match had to be stopped in the 38th minute, because the weather conditions began to deteriorate.
Senegal was 2-0 ahead, and the weather conditions were suddenly cloudy with lightning. The referee was immediately alert and stopped the match temporarily.
Players of both teams immediately entered the dressing room, and the organizing committee announced to the audience to move to a safer place while waiting for weather conditions to improve.
Piala Dunia U-17
- VIVA
The match was stopped for almost half an hour, before referee Al Ali Omar from the UAE resumed the match, until the end of the first half for Senegal 2-0.
It was a bit of a distraction, but it didn't stop the match completely. There was no impact on the match schedule.
The pitch remained usable, with no problems and no damage to the grass.
