India, July 19 -- Mikel Merino can smell and see the smoke from the Canadian wildfires that are making for hazy conditions across large parts of the US, including northern New Jersey, where he and Spain are set to face Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday. Merino is trying not to focus on it.

It remains unclear how much, if at all, the smoke will affect the final. The World Health Organization forecast calls for an improvement to "moderate" air quality in East Rutherford.

"For a game that is as important as a World Cup final, you have to be able to shut out external factors as much as possible," Merino said Friday. "Luckily, we are being careful with every detail thanks to the federation and the organizers of the World Cup."

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