World Cup final at risk as warning issued ahead of Spain vs Argentina

Spain and Argentina are set to face each other in the World Cup final in the New York-New Jersey Stadium, with kick-off set for 8pm British Standard Time; however, there is a threat of the match being delayed or postponed.

France and England will fight to finish third in the World Cup this Saturday evening after they lost to Spain and Argentina, respectively, in the semi-finals.

The Spanish are aiming to win their second World Cup and to keep their 100% record at this stage of the competition, while the Argentines are aiming to become only the third nation to win consecutive titles after Italy achieved it in 1938 and Brazil in 1962.

Lionel Messi will be playing in his third World Cup final, and it will be the seventh time that Argentina have reached this stage of the competition, the same number of finals as their South American rivals Brazil, while only Germany have been to more, as they have reached this stage on eight occasions, but only if you count their West German appearances too.

However, the Guardian has reported that the final is at risk of taking place at all due to a health warning issued by the American authorities.

New York City Hall's emergency management officials issued a citywide code red for Tuesday to Thursday, telling residents to stay inside unless absolutely necessary and to avoid strenuous exercise due to thick smoke spreading south across many of the United States' eastern cities after wildfires broke out in the Canadian wildlands.

Haze from Canadian wildfires obscures the Statue of Liberty as seen from Brooklyn Bridge Park on July 17, 2026 in New York City. (Getty Images)

The smoke was clearly visible in downtown Manhattan, which left the likes of the Statue of Liberty temporarily hidden from view when looking across the Hudson River, with the conditions so bad that many flights from New Jersey’s Newark Airport were cancelled.

These are not the desired conditions for the biggest match in global sport, with an expected worldwide television audience of 1.6 billion set to tune in.

The history of matches between Spain and Argentina

Spain and Argentina have met on 14 occasions, with the record being even as they have both won on six occasions, while drawing the other two clashes.

However, it must be noted that 13 of the matches have been friendlies, and so the result did not carry much significance except for those playing for pride.

The pair have met only once in the World Cup previously, with that match coming all the way back in 1966, when the pair met in Villa Park at the group stage.

Argentina would secure a 2-1 victory over the Spanish, and this would help the South Americans progress to the knockouts while La Roja crashed out in the group stage following their defeats to the three-time World Cup champions and West Germany.