Charlotte (USA), Jun 29 (AP) Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca criticized FIFA for holding the Club World Cup in the United States after his club’s match against Benfica on Saturday was delayed for two hours due to lightning and took nearly five hours to complete. Fans were told to vacate the seating bowl of Bank of America Stadium with four minutes left in regulation, although it never rained at the venue. Chelsea went on to beat Benfica 4-1 in extra time. Also Read | Smriti Mandhana Becomes First Indian Woman To Score Tons Across All Formats, Achieves Feat During IND-W vs ENG-W 1st T20I 2025. If 鈥渢hey are already suspending six, seven eight games, probably there is something that is not working well,鈥 Maresca said, adding that the United States 鈥渋s not the right place to do this competition.鈥 Extreme heat has been an issue throughout the tournament, with temperatures approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) at some venues during daytime matches scheduled to accommodate European television audiences. Several matches have been delayed by rain. Also Read | Virat Kohli Smoking Cigarette or Having Lollipop? Alleged Viral Blurry Picture of Star Indian Cricketer Leaves Fan Confused. After the lengthy delay on Saturday, Benfica made a late push and scored the equalizer on a stoppage-time penalty. Chelsea captain Reece James said players 鈥渉ad to sit and wait for a long period, and it’s quite disruptive.鈥 With the expanded Club World Cup serving as a dry run for next year’s 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, FIFA has been criticized over pitch conditions and match scheduling as well as its handling of the weather. (AP) AM (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)