Lightning halts England v Honduras

An electrical storm in Miami forced Saturday’s international friendly between England and Honduras to be temporarily suspended.

Just 22 minutes of the first half had been played when referee Ricardo Salazar brought the game to a halt as the storm passed over the Sun Life Stadium in Miami.

Salazar deemed the match – each side’s final outing before the FIFA World Cup – would be delayed for a minimum of 30 minutes to allow the weather to pass.

In the time that was played at Sun Life Stadium, both teams were limited to long-range attempts during the opening 15 minutes.

However, the best chance of the game fell to Daniel Sturridge, who should have found the back of the net after a flowing move just before play was called off.

England manager Roy Hodgson happily accepted Salazar’s decision.

He told ITV: “We appreciate the referee’s decision because he’s concerned with the players’ safety.

“We’re ready to play any time, I don’t think the lads will be worried about going out again.”

The game was surprisingly the second pre-World Cup friendly to be halted by the weather on Saturday, as Belgium’s meeting with Tunisia in Brussels was delayed by over 45 minutes due to a violent hailstorm.