Wales' preparations for Friday's Women's World Cup qualifier in Montenegro have been badly disrupted after the team flight was forced to divert to Italy due to bad weather, proving that even international football is no match for a grumpy sky.
Rhian Wilkinson's squad took off from Cardiff at 16:30 BST on Wednesday and had been due to arrive in Montenegro around three hours later. However, they were unable to land in Podgorica due to electrical storms around the Montenegrin capital and eventually diverted to the Italian port city of Brindisi. Nothing says "elite athletic preparation" like an unplanned detour to southern Italy.
After more than three hours on the tarmac in southern Italy, during which Wales had hoped weather conditions would ease, the decision was taken to stay in Brindisi on Wednesday night. That left Football Association of Wales (FAW) officials scrambling to secure hotel rooms for the travelling party, as well as trying to arrange travel plans for Thursday.
"Due to storms in Podgorica, the Cymru women's national team flight was diverted this evening, landing safely in Brindisi airport in south Italy," the FAW said on social media. "The team will stay overnight in Italy and will arrange alternative travel to Montenegro ahead of Friday evening's match." So much for that carefully calibrated pre-match routine.
Wales take on Montenegro in Podgorica in their penultimate Group B1 fixture at 17:00 BST on Friday. They then host Czech Republic, their rivals to finish top of the group, in their final fixture in Cardiff on Tuesday.