Spain’s preparations for Sunday’s World Cup final hit a weather-related snag on Saturday after thunderstorms forced the cancellation of the team’s final practice session in East Hanover, New Jersey.
World soccer’s governing body FIFA announced the cancellation and confirmed that no alternative training time would be made available to the Spanish squad. It remained unclear whether Argentina’s session, which was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. local time (3:30 p.m. GMT), would proceed as planned.
Spain’s soccer federation, known as the RFEF, released a statement explaining what happened on the ground. “The Spanish national team’s training session on the pitches at the Melanie Lane Training Ground in New Jersey has been suspended in accordance with the US storm safety protocol,” the federation said.
The statement also noted that players were not left completely idle, adding, “The players are currently taking part in a warm-up session indoors.”
Despite the disruption, Sunday’s championship match between Spain and Argentina remains on schedule, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. local time (7 p.m. GMT).
