England v Honduras suspended due to electrical thunderstorm over Sun Life Stadium in Miami

Clouds gather over the stadium (Rex)

England's World Cup finals preparations took a bizarre twist when their game in Miami against Honduras was halted for more than 45 minutes in the first half when the referee decided that a thunderstorm posed a serious risk to the safety of the players.

With 22 minutes and 18 seconds on the clock, the teams were brought off the pitch and supporters were told to move back to the safety of the concourse. Roy Hodgson was in agreement with the referee and beckoned his players off the pitch with thunder audible and grey clouds over the pitch.

An announcement on the stadium screen said that the game had been interrupted “due to inclement weather, with associated lightning”. The players came back onto the pitch at 5.51pm local time, more than an hour after the game had originally kicked off.

Hodgson said to ITV during the break that he agreed with the decision. “It's a surprise, not something we come across very often in Europe. I have encountered it in Europe and we can only accept and appreciate the referee's decision as he is concerned about the safety.