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Published : 18 Jul 2026, 07:04 PM
For much of the week, the World Cup final appeared to have two unwanted guests: suffocating heat and a veil of wildfire smoke.
By match eve, both looked a little less threatening. But Argentina still face one disadvantage no forecast can remove -- time.
Lionel Scaloni’s world and South American champions will take on European champions Spain at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday after one fewer day of recovery and a journey disrupted by thunderstorms.
The latest outlook is more encouraging than first feared. FOX Sports, citing FOX Weather, forecasts sunshine, temperatures about 28 degrees Celsius and humidity of around 55 percent. The risk of a major weather impact is rated low.
It will still be warm, particularly for players pressing, sprinting, and chasing the ball for 90 minutes or longer. But the conditions no longer look as punishing as earlier forecasts suggested.
The air remains a less predictable part of the equation.
Smoke from wildfires in Canada has drifted across large parts of the United States, leaving New York and northern New Jersey under a thick haze earlier in the week. Spain could see and smell the smoke during preparations, midfielder Mikel Merino told the media.
Air quality improved on Friday, while a World Health Organization forecast suggested it could fall into the “moderate” category in East Rutherford by Sunday. However, experts remained unsure whether it would reach the stadium before kick-off.
That uncertainty matters. Medical specialists have warned that wildfire smoke can affect the lungs and cardiovascular system, making prolonged, high-intensity exercise more difficult even when pollution levels are not at their worst.
FIFA’s mandatory hydration breaks should offer some relief. FOX Sports says play will stop for three minutes midway through each half, allowing players to drink and coaches to deliver quick tactical instructions.
Yet while the skies appear to be clearing, the clock has been less kind to Argentina.
Spain booked their place in the final by beating France a day before Argentina’s dramatic semi-final victory over England, handing Luis de la Fuente’s players roughly 24 extra hours to rest and recover.
Argentina then lost more valuable time when thunderstorms delayed their planned flight from Atlanta to the New York area. talkSPORT reported that the squad had been left stranded after adverse conditions halted their departure, disrupting Scaloni’s training schedule.
The Argentina coach acknowledged the problem but refused to turn it into an excuse.
“We don’t have much time to train,” Scaloni said at his pre-match press conference, according to Reuters. He said the squad had arrived at 11pm and would need to be assessed, although “in principle they are all good”.
At this stage of a long tournament, one day can matter. Spain’s football is built around control, coordinated pressing, and constant movement, all of which could test tired Argentine legs.
Argentina, however, have repeatedly shown that they are comfortable when matches become messy, tense and emotionally charged.
That contrast gives the final its intrigue.
Spain arrive unbeaten in 37 matches, chasing their first World Cup since 2010 with one of the tournament’s youngest and most technically accomplished squads. Argentina, carrying 17 members of their 2022 title-winning group, are back in the final after surviving a far more turbulent route, Reuters reported.
And, at the centre of it all, stands Lionel Messi. At 39, he may be preparing for his final World Cup appearance -- against a Spain side led by Lamine Yamal, the dazzling teenager widely seen as the heir to his Barcelona legacy.
The weather may no longer dominate Sunday’s final. The clock still might.
