Spain‘s final training session ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup final with Argentina in New Jersey on Sunday (July 19) got cancelled due to inclement weather.
La Roja – who have had an extra day to prepare for the big game – saw their Saturday morning session get called off due to lightning strikes in the region. The Albiceleste’s session – held around five miles away in Morristown – also got affected, starting 45 minutes late before it commenced at 12:45 pm local time.
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However, Spain weren’t so lucky, as their session in Whippany, New Jersey, due to begin at 11 a.m. local time, didn’t start, with reporters arriving at the venue asked to move inside the building. Forty minutes later, FIFA officials informed assembled reporters that the training session was cancelled, as per The Athletic.
As per lightning protocol observed during the entire tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico, with training getting postponed whenever lightning is reported within an 8-mile radius. The situation is checked every 30 minutes before the go-ahead is given.
Extreme heat and poor air quality due to Canadian wildfires has plagued the New Jersey region this week, but conditions are expected to improve for the final on Sunday, which starts at 3 p.m. local time.
Spain seek second FIFA World Cup title at expense of holders Argentina
Spain seek to become the seventh different team to win the FIFA World Cup twice when they lock horns with holders Argentina in the final at the New York New Jersey stadum in East Rutherford on Sunday.
La Roja became the eighth different nation to win the coveted competition when they beat the Netherlands 1-0 in extra time in the 2010 title match in Johannesburg. Sixteen years later, they’re back in the World Cup final – as European champions – hoping to become the first team to complete the European Championship-World Cup double twice.
The Albiceleste, meanwhile, are seeking to join an exclusive group of teams to successfully defend their World Cup title. No defending champion since Brazil (1962) have gone back-to-back in the competition, with Italy (1934-38) the only team to accomplish the feat.
Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina are riding a record 13-game winning streak in the competition, bettering Brazil’s previous mark of 10 set in 2006 in Germany.
Edited by Bhargav