Massive update on if air quality issues, smoke could impact World Cup final emerges

The 2026 FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina is scheduled to get underway in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at 3:00 p.m. ET this coming Sunday. 

However, smoke related to Canadian wildfires has impacted the air quality throughout the New York City/New Jersey region and sparked concerns among fans regarding whether the game will kick off on time or even take place this weekend. As of Friday, it sounds like Argentina's Lionel Messi and Spain's Rodri will lead their teams into battle at MetLife Stadium as planned. 

World Cup final "not under threat" despite ongoing air quality issues

According to an ESPN update shared on Friday morning, "the World Cup final is not under any threat despite the air quality warnings in the area." ESPN also pointed out that the weather forecast for the weekend has FIFA officials confident that the match can safely be played on Sunday. 

Aaron Mentkowski of The Athletic noted that showers and thundershowers in the area could linger from late Saturday afternoon "into early Sunday morning" and help clear the smoke. Meanwhile, CNN lead meteorologist Brandon Miller said that the storm system should "temporarily shift the winds so they are not blowing from the fire zone in southern Ontario and northern Minnesota." 

"Air quality won’t be perfect," Miller added about the World Cup final, "but it should be much better than the past couple of days." 

How air quality issues impacted the sports world on Thursday

Thursday's Major League Soccer game between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Chicago Fire, scheduled to be held in Chicago, was postponed due to poor air quality. The start of Thursday's MLB game between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia was pushed up an hour because of concerns about the air quality. 

"Toward the end of it, it was a little thick. It felt like I was breathing some metal in there," Mets starting pitcher Christian Scott said after New York's win, per Tim Britton and Matt Gelb of The Athletic. "A spoonful of adversity never hurt anyone."

Ideally, players for Spain and Argentina will have a better experience in New Jersey on Sunday afternoon.