Warnings about the air quality have been issued in New York and New Jersey ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final in East Rutherford.
The New York New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium) will host the 23rd World Cup final in soccer history, with current world champions Argentina defending their crown against Spain.
Argentina beat England in Atlanta to reach the final with a late 2-1 victory, a day after Spain had marched to victory over the much-fancied France in Dallas.
Is the third place play-off game the most pointless match in football, or is the bronze medal genuinely an achievement?
Will you even be watching it?
Ahead of the biggest game in soccer, health updates have been issued in both areas as Canadian wildfires impact parts of northeastern USA.
However, it seems FIFA are not particularly concerned about how the situation could impact Sunday’s World Cup final.
FIFA have no concerns about the World Cup final despite wildfires
According to ESPN, FIFA are relaxed because the weather forecast is set to improve over the next few days.
The weather has played a big role in this World Cup. England’s round of 16 game against Mexico in Mexico City was delayed an hour due to severe conditions, while France’s group game against Iraq in Philadelphia was delayed for two hours because of thunderstorms.
The World Cup final is scheduled to kick off at 3pm local time, with US President Donald Trump set to make his first appearance at the tournament.
There will be a closing ceremony including performers such as Post Malone, which begins at 1.30pm.
Controversially, FIFA have confirmed plans to stage a Super Bowl-style half-time show, which is reportedly set to break one of the game’s long-standing rules.
Indeed, half-time breaks in soccer are only supposed to last for 15 minutes, although the referee has the option to add more time at their discretion.
However, reports suggest that the half-time show could last between twenty and thirty minutes.
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