The Portugal national team could not train this Sunday due to a strong storm that hit the town of Palm Beach (Florida)where the Portuguese expedition has its preparation center just a few hours before its debut in the World Cup 2026.
An intense electrical storm, later accompanied by heavy rain, forced the players to take shelter in “a safe place” to carry out physical conditioning tasks when the session had not yet started, according to a spokesperson for the national team.
Several journalists who were already in the press center, located next to the training site, had to be evacuated to safeguard their integrity due to weather problems.
Training was rescheduled for Monday morning, as was the players’ appearance before the media.
When does Portugal debut in the 2026 World Cup?
The Portuguese team arrived last Friday at USA and has only been able to train one day so far. He will debut on Wednesday against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Houston.
The situation this Sunday in palm beach He barely allowed the players to leave the concentration hotel, and it contrasts with Saturday, when the squad took a walk on the beach under the sun.
The thunderstorms They are common at this time of year in Florida and it is not uncommon for them to put major sporting events in check.
Club World Cup was affected last year
Last year they caused delays in several matches of the Club World Cupsince the US authorities prohibit the development of this type of activities when lightning strikes 13 kilometers (8 miles) of the stadium in which a match is being played.
According to that protocol, the event cannot resume until half an hour has passed since the last lightning strike.
