[Anchor]

The North and Central American World Cup final is drawing intense attention for the potential showdown between Argentina's Lionel Messi and Spain's rising star Lamine Yamal. However, concerns are rising that this "match of the century" might not happen, as Yamal was excluded from training due to thigh pain.

Reporter Ha Seong-nyong has the story.

[Reporter]

As the Spanish national team held their first training session in New Jersey, where the final will take place, 19-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal sat on the grass watching his teammates warm up, with a bandage wrapped around his left thigh.

Yamal, who returned to action in the first match of the World Cup group stage after suffering a left hamstring injury in April, reportedly hurt his leg while defending against Kylian Mbappe in the 76th minute of the semifinal match against France.

Although Yamal played the full match and led his team to the final, he was spotted limping, though the Spanish head coach stated immediately after the match that it was not an injury.

[Luis de la Fuente / Spain National Football Team Head Coach (July 15): As far as I know, Lamine Yamal is fine. We will have to evaluate his condition accurately again tomorrow.]

However, as Yamal remained unable to participate in training two days later, concerns are growing that he might miss the final scheduled for July 20.

Meanwhile, Argentina held recovery training in Atlanta, where they played their semifinal match.

While the starting players were excluded from the session, Messi enjoyed some downtime, walking barefoot on the pitch and chatting while sitting on the bench.

Argentina moved directly to New Jersey after their recovery training and is set to begin preparations for the final starting tomorrow, July 18. However, it remains unclear whether both teams will be able to conduct proper training due to an air quality alert issued for New Jersey.

Smoke from wildfires in Canada has spread to the northeastern United States, covering New Jersey in a thick haze and prompting authorities to advise against outdoor activities.

In Chicago, a Major League Soccer match was postponed due to poor air quality, but weather authorities have stated that rain is forecast for tomorrow, which is expected to improve air quality, meaning the final is likely to proceed as scheduled.

(Video Editing: Lee Jae-sung)