World Cup 2026: Spain practices outdoors amid smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketing northeastern U.S.
As smoke from Canadian wildfires in Ontario blankets the northeastern and upper midwestern United States, the Spain national team practiced outdoors in northern New Jersey on Thursday in preparation for Sunday's World Cup final versus Argentina.
The hazardous air conditions in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions have prompted government officials and health experts to warn people to stay indoors. Those who must go outdoors to travel or work were urged to wear N95 or KN95 masks.
Yet the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies played on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park, albeit with the start time moved up an hour to 6:10 p.m. ET because of air quality concerns and forecasts for more smoke to blow back into the area later in the evening.
Spain's practice began at 11 a.m. ET with an hour-long session scheduled. Reporters allowed to watch the first 15 minutes of the practice weren't able to determine how rigorous the session was, according to the Associated Press.
Though Spain's practice being held earlier in the day arguably avoided increasingly worse air conditions later in the day, the decision to practice outdoors was curious.
"These are high-level athletes who are moving a lot of air through their lungs during every practice [and] every game, and really they shouldn't be practicing outside if the air quality levels are at hazardous sort of ranges for wildfire-related air pollution," Global Climate and Health Alliance official Dr. Courtney Howard told the AP.
"That's the time to schedule a practice inside," she added. "You could put an N95 mask on them, but trying to make sure that everybody's mask is well-fitted, I suspect that's not the best choice. I would go find an air-conditioned indoor facility that's a clean-air shelter."
Meanwhile, Argentina remained in the Atlanta area following its semifinal win over England on Wednesday. Spain traveled to New York from Dallas after Tuesday's victory versus France.
Neither FIFA nor the Spanish Football Association responded to inquiries from the AP regarding the decision to practice outdoors.
Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is expected to clear the New Jersey/New York region before Sunday's World Cup championship game, scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.
