According to sources, the World Cup final remains unaffected by the air quality alerts currently impacting the region.
Officials in New York and New Jersey have issued health warnings due to wildfires in Canada affecting large areas of the northeastern United States.
Despite this, the final match between Argentina and Spain at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is not raising concerns for FIFA as weather conditions are expected to improve, sources have informed ESPN.
In contrast, the Major League Soccer match between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Chicago Fire at Soldier Field in Chicago was postponed on Thursday night due to poor air quality.
The National Weather Service in New York announced on Friday: “Smoke is still present today, particularly to the south, but should be less severe than yesterday in our region. The smoke may become denser again overnight into Saturday morning.”
On Friday, the New York Office of Emergency Management announced that the air quality was “unhealthy for everyone,” a downgrade from “very unhealthy” on Thursday.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with FIFA President Gianni Infantino later today.
Administration officials, including Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, have been in discussions with the soccer governing body and are closely monitoring the wildfire situation, according to a White House official.
This information was provided by a source who wished to remain anonymous to discuss internal matters.
The World Cup has faced weather-related issues in the past. For example, the match between England and Mexico in Mexico City was delayed by a severe storm, while the clash between France and Iraq was suspended for over two hours.
Ahead of the final, Spain midfielder Mikel Merino stated, “For a game as significant as a World Cup final, it is essential to minimize distractions from external factors.”
“Fortunately, we are paying attention to every detail with help from the federation and World Cup organizers.”
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Spain conducted a training session outdoors under hazardous conditions in East Hanover, New Jersey, on Thursday, raising concerns among experts who felt the team should have practiced indoors.
Inquiries sent to FIFA and the Spanish Football Association about whether indoor training had been considered went unanswered.
While air quality improved on Friday, there remains uncertainty over the potential impact of up to 1.25 inches (3.17 centimeters) of rain forecasted for Saturday.
Argentina enters the final looking for their second consecutive World Cup title after defeating France in the previous final, while Spain aims for their second World Cup victory since winning in 2010.
This Saturday, losing semifinalists England and France will compete for third place in Miami.
The Golden Boot remains undecided, with France’s Kylian Mbappé and Argentina’s Lionel Messi each having scored eight goals, while France’s Ousmane Dembélé and Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal have five goals each. Goals scored in the third-place match will be included in this tally.
Contributions from ESPN’s Mark Ogden and the Associated Press were included in this report.