Best Electrolytes for Soccer: A Match-Day and Halftime Hydration Plan

By Sebastian Madlangbayan, founder of Cleonse: the world's cleanest 3-ingredient organic electrolyte.

The best electrolyte for soccer replaces the sodium you sweat out over 90 minutes, with enough carbohydrate to keep your legs late in the match. Research on 1,303 athletes found soccer players sweat about 0.94 liters and lose roughly 800mg of sodium per hour on average. One 500mg-sodium drink before kickoff and another at halftime covers most players.

Soccer is one of the hardest sports to hydrate for. There are no timeouts, play is continuous, and you get one real break: halftime. If you fall behind on fluid and salt in the first half, there's only one window to catch up. Even FIFA has acknowledged this. At the 2026 World Cup, it introduced mandatory three-minute hydration breaks around the 22nd minute of each half, in every match, regardless of weather.

Most of us don't get official water breaks, so we have to plan around halftime. Here's what the research says about soccer sweat, what to look for in an electrolyte, and a simple match-day routine.

How much soccer players actually sweat

The largest sweat dataset available comes from Barnes, Baker and colleagues at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, published in the Journal of Sports Sciences in 2019. They pooled sweat testing from 1,303 athletes. For soccer players, they found:

Measure	Soccer average	What that means for a 90-minute match
Sweat rate	0.94 L per hour (about 32 oz)	Roughly 1.4 L of sweat in 90 minutes, more with warm-up
Sodium lost	34.6 mmol per hour (~795mg)	Roughly 1,200mg of sodium in 90 minutes

And here's how soccer compares with other sports in the same study:

Sport	Average sweat rate	Average sodium lost per hour
American football	1.51 L/h	~1,290mg
Endurance	1.28 L/h	~1,190mg
Basketball	0.95 L/h	~795mg
Soccer	0.94 L/h	~795mg
Baseball	0.83 L/h	~625mg

Two cautions. First, these are averages. Soccer's sodium loss had a standard deviation of about 440mg per hour, so many players lose anywhere from about 350mg to over 1,200mg per hour. Precision Hydration, which has run more than 30,000 sweat tests, sees sweat sodium concentrations from about 200mg to over 2,300mg per liter. Second, many soccer games are played outside in summer heat, where sweat rates climb well above the averages measured across all conditions.

What dehydration does to your game

Soccer demands endurance, quick decisions and fine skill all at once, and dehydration chips away at all three. A 2021 GSSI review of team sports by Barnes and Baker concluded that drops in cognitive function, skill and physical performance become more likely once players lose more than about 2% of their body weight. The review also identified soccer as one of the team sports with the highest risk of players becoming dehydrated.

What changes past that 2% line:

• Endurance: Losses above 2% can impair endurance performance, especially in hot, humid conditions. One soccer study in the review found players covered less distance when they got no fluid.
• Decisions: Decision-making speed, reaction time and vigilance tend to suffer, which shows up as late runs and slow reads.
• Skill: Shooting accuracy and fine motor speed can decline, even if passing holds up better.

For a 160-pound player, 2% is 3.2 pounds. With an average sweat rate near a liter an hour, a player who drinks little during a hot match can get there by the second half.

What to look for in a soccer electrolyte

1. Sodium first. Sodium is by far the main electrolyte in sweat. It replaces what you lose and helps your body hold on to the fluid you drink. A drink with a few hundred milligrams or more per serving is a reasonable target given average losses near 800mg per hour.
2. Carbohydrate for 90 minutes. Soccer burns through stored carbohydrate, and late-game fatigue is partly a fuel problem. A drink with some carbohydrate helps, especially in tournaments or two-game weekends. Sugar-free electrolytes skip this entirely.
3. Simple ingredients. Many sports drinks pair modest sodium with dyes, artificial sweeteners and long ingredient lists. You don't need any of that to hydrate. If you're comparing labels, here's how to judge whether an electrolyte is actually clean.

Option	Sodium	Fuel	Best for
Plain water	None	None	Light training under an hour
Zero-sugar electrolyte sticks	Varies widely	None	Low-intensity sessions; often contain stevia or sucralose
Classic sports drinks	Usually modest per bottle	Yes	Matches, but often with dyes and additives
Cleonse	500mg per stick	26g carbs from organic cane sugar	Matches, tournaments, hot-weather training

Match-day hydration plan

This routine follows the ACSM position stand on exercise and fluid replacement (Sawka et al., 2007) and GSSI team-sport guidance. Adjust it to your own sweat rate and conditions.

When	What to do
Night before and morning	Drink normally and eat salted meals. Check that your urine is pale yellow.
2 to 4 hours before kickoff	Drink about 5 to 7 ml of fluid per kg of body weight (roughly 12 to 16 oz for a 70 kg / 155 lb player).
Warm-up (30 to 60 minutes before)	One stick of Cleonse mixed in 16 oz of water. Sip it through warm-ups.
First half	Drink at every natural stoppage you can: injuries, set pieces, near the sideline. Small sips add up.
Halftime (15 minutes)	Your biggest window. Drink 12 to 20 oz. In heat, or if you're a salty sweater, make it a second electrolyte drink.
Second half	Keep sipping at stoppages. Don't wait until you're thirsty.
After the match	Replace about 150% of the weight you lost: 20 to 24 oz of fluid per pound, plus a salty meal or electrolyte drink.

Making halftime count

Under the Laws of the Game, the halftime interval can't exceed 15 minutes, and between the walk to the locker room and the coach's talk, you may get only a few minutes to drink. Have your bottle mixed before the match so you're not scrambling. Cold drinks go down easier in the heat. Drink steadily rather than chugging, which can leave you feeling sloshy when the second half starts.

Tournaments and hot days

On tournament weekends, each game starts a little further behind than the last. Add an electrolyte drink between games, eat real food with salt and carbohydrate, and weigh yourself in the morning. If you're more than 1% lighter than usual, you haven't fully rehydrated from the day before.

Don't overdo plain water

Drinking much more plain water than you sweat can dilute your blood sodium. You shouldn't gain weight during a match. Aim to finish within about 2% of your starting weight.

Find your own sweat rate

Weigh yourself in minimal clothing before a training session, track everything you drink, then towel off and weigh again after. Add the ounces you drank to the ounces you lost (1 lb = 16 oz) and divide by hours played. That's your hourly sweat rate. If salt lines dry white on your kit or you cramp late in matches, you likely lose more sodium than average and should lean on a higher-sodium drink rather than water alone.

Parents of youth players: kids' needs are different, so talk to your pediatrician about what makes sense for your child.

Why I keep Cleonse to three ingredients

I started Cleonse because I couldn't find an electrolyte I wanted to drink every day without stevia, sucralose, dyes or gums. It's three ingredients: organic lemon or strawberry powder, organic cane sugar and French grey sea salt.

Each 30g stick has 500mg of sodium, trace amounts of 85+ minerals from the sea salt, 100 calories and 26g of carbohydrate (24g sugar), mixed into 16 oz of water. It's vegan and gluten-free, with no artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, dyes, preservatives, gums or fillers. You can check the full nutrition facts.

For soccer, two sticks (one at warm-up, one at halftime) provide 1,000mg of sodium and 52g of carbohydrate across a match, close to the average sodium a player loses in 90 minutes.

FAQ

What is the best electrolyte for soccer players?

Look for real sodium (a few hundred milligrams or more per serving), some carbohydrate to fuel 90 minutes, and a short ingredient list without artificial sweeteners or dyes. Soccer players lose about 800mg of sodium per hour on average.

What should soccer players drink at halftime?

Halftime is the main chance to catch up. Drink 12 to 20 ounces of fluid, and choose an electrolyte drink with sodium and some carbohydrate if it's hot, you're a salty sweater, or you have another game later.

How much do soccer players sweat during a game?

A 2019 analysis of 1,303 athletes found soccer players averaged about 0.94 liters of sweat per hour, which is roughly 1.4 liters over 90 minutes. Hot weather and high intensity push that higher.

Should I drink electrolytes before a soccer match?

Yes. Drink normally earlier in the day, then have an electrolyte drink during your warm-up, 30 to 60 minutes before kickoff, so you start the match hydrated with sodium on board.

Is water enough for soccer?

Water works for short or light sessions. For full matches, hot weather, tournaments or heavy sweaters, adding sodium helps replace what you lose and helps your body retain the fluid you drink.

Keep reading

• Electrolytes vs. Sports Drinks
• Best Electrolytes for Runners
• Do Electrolytes Need Sugar?

Editor's note: Sweat-rate and sodium figures are averages from published research; individual needs vary widely. Sodium values were converted from mmol to mg (1 mmol sodium = 23mg); 90-minute figures are simple multiples of the hourly averages. This article is general information, not medical advice. Sources: Barnes KA, Baker LB et al., "Normative data for sweating rate, sweat sodium concentration, and sweat sodium loss in athletes: An update and analysis by sport," Journal of Sports Sciences, 2019 (via GSSI); Barnes KA & Baker LB, "Hydration and Team Sport Cognitive Function, Technical Skill and Physical Performance," GSSI Sports Science Exchange, 2021; Precision Hydration, "How to estimate how much sodium you lose in your sweat"; Sawka MN et al., ACSM Position Stand: Exercise and Fluid Replacement, 2007 (as summarized by NSCA); IFAB Laws of the Game, Law 7 (half-time interval); Fox News / OutKick, "FIFA implements mandatory water breaks in each half for first time at 2026 World Cup"; Cleonse nutrition facts (cleonse.com/pages/facts).