Warning issued before Spain vs Argentina match puts World Cup final in doubt
Spain and Argentina are gearing up to face each other in the World Cup final at the New York-New Jersey Stadium, with the match kicking off at 8pm British Standard Time. However, there’s a chance the game might be delayed or even postponed.
This Saturday evening, France and England will play for third place after losing to Spain and Argentina in the semi-finals. Spain is aiming to win their second World Cup and keep their perfect record at this stage, while Argentina hopes to join Italy and Brazil as the only nations to win back-to-back titles.
Lionel Messi will be playing in his third World Cup final, and this marks the seventh time Argentina has made it this far, tying with Brazil for the second most appearances after Germany, who have reached eight finals if you count West Germany’s records too.
But there’s a potential problem: a health warning from American officials might stop the final from happening. New York City Hall declared a citywide code red from Tuesday to Thursday, asking people to stay indoors and avoid heavy exercise because of thick smoke spreading over many eastern U.S. cities. This smoke comes from wildfires in Canada.
The smoke has even made the Statue of Liberty hard to see from Manhattan, and many flights from Newark Airport have been canceled. These aren’t the best conditions for such a huge game, especially with an expected 1.6 billion people around the world ready to watch.
Spain and Argentina have played 14 times before, with both teams winning six matches each and two games ending in draws. But 13 of those games were friendlies, so they didn’t carry much weight, except for pride.
They have only met once before in a World Cup, all the way back in 1966 during the group stage at Villa Park. Argentina won that game 2-1, helping them move on to the knockout rounds, while Spain was knocked out early after losing to Argentina, West Germany, and the three-time champions.