Spain cancels last exercise before final match with Argentina

Louis de la Fuente's squad, like its opponent Argentina, faced severe weather conditions in the New Jersey area, which made it impossible to develop open - air training.

Recent preparations for the 2026 World Cup final were put into logistics chaos Saturday, as bad weather swept across New Jersey's north.

Spain's National Bus arrived on schedule at the Melanie Lane Training Ground training centre, but players and technical staff were immediately stopped by tour organisers for security reasons.

By “U n SA Today”, a FIFA official informed the media that the regulation requires that at least 30 minutes pass without any lightning strikes before footballers are allowed out in the field.

After monitoring the situation and seeing that the weather was not improving, Spain's technical staff decided to cancel training instead of waiting indefinitely on the strippers.

This annulment comes at a very inappropriate moment for coach Luis de la Fuente, who had stressed the importance of this training session.

Some of the team's top stars, including Lamine Yamal and Pedro Porro, are still managing physical concerns suffered in the semifinals won against France.

At Friday's press conference, De la Fuente had underlined the importance of the last 24 hours before the final.

We have the last training tomorrow. It is one of the most important moments because there can be no delay. If an adverse situation occurs, you risk not being ready for the fight. I hope it doesn't happen, but all the players are fine”, he said.

In the meantime, Argentina faced the same problem.

Lionel Scanlon's team had planned to hold their final training at the New York Red Bulls training center, just about eight miles from where Spain's camp was located.

Powerful champions were also forced to wait because of the storms that swept through the region, although they remained optimistic that they would hold the session once the weather improved.

Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, aims to become only the third national in history to successfully defend the world champion title.

For Scalon, any obstacle to the pace of preparations is unwanted, especially given the high pressure expected to exert in the Spanish midfield in Sunday's final.