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Two U.S. Troops Killed, One Missing After Iran Strikes; Interview With Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL); "Life-Threatening" Flash Flooding Slams New York Area; Wildfire Smoke Relief Expected Ahead Of World Cup Final; Feds Give Evidence On ICE Shootings To Minnesota Officials; Interview With Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty; New Criticism Of ICE After Deadly Shootings In Texas And Maine; Maine Democrats To Pick New Nominee In Snap Election; Tomorrow: Spain & Argentina To Face Off In Final Match. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired July 18, 2026 - 17:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:37]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.

We're going to start with breaking news.

U.S. Central Command says two service members were killed and another is missing following an Iranian attack in Jordan yesterday. Central Command says it will wait to identify the fallen service members until 24 hours after families are notified.

Four more service members were taken to hospitals in Jordan but have since been discharged, CentCom said. These are the first American military deaths from Iranian fire since March.

Now, the conflict between the United States and Iran is intensifying. Overnight, the United States carried out its seventh consecutive night of strikes, and Tehran has been targeting U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf.

For more on this, I want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook, who joins us now from New Jersey, where the president is today.

And Julia, has the administration said anything more about these latest casualties?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have reached out to the White House for comment on this. We have not heard back yet. But Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, he put out a brief statement saying that "the sacrifice of these service members only stiffens our resolve".

Now, this comes as there have been seven consecutive nights of U.S. strikes, as well as waves of Iranian drones and missiles fired at a widening number of targets in countries with U.S. bases.

And we are learning from U.S. Central Command that two American service members in Jordan have been killed in action.

I want to pull up that statement for you now. CentCom said in part, "On July 17th, two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed in action as U.S. Central Command and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Additionally, one service member is currently missing in action."

They added that four American service members were medically evacuated, sent to hospitals there in Jordan, and have since been discharged. They are withholding information, identification of those two service members that were killed as they worked to make sure that next of kin has been notified.

But it was just a little bit over a week ago now when Iran had targeted ships in the Strait of Hormuz, that President Donald Trump said that he believed that the ceasefire agreement was over.

And it's been just about a month since there was all of this hope. There was going to be a diplomatic breakthrough when the Memorandum of Understanding was signed by both the United States and Iran.

In fact, Trump said at the time that he was getting almost everything that he wanted here and that this was a good step forward. He has since said that he believes that Memorandum of Understanding is over as well.

Now, what's next here? That is the big question. And we do know from sources familiar with the matter that Trump has been presented with options about expanding military operations in Iran.

That was before these two service members were killed and included a Situation Room meeting that really centered around the critical waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, and how to loosen Iran's grip on that area.

Americans have so far been skeptical of Trump's handling of this conflict, and a new poll from "The Washington Post" and Ipsos found that just 29 percent approve of the way that Trump has handled this conflict in Iran.

And Omar, Trump had this big address just a couple of days ago. It was highlighting election integrity. That was the focus of his speech, but it was going on while all of this escalation was going on there in the region. He barely mentioned it.

He did say that he believed the United States was winning big, but he did not go into any detail on the strategy going forward and when all of this could end.

JIMENEZ: And Julia, as I understand the State Department is also issuing new guidance to Americans in the region. What can you tell us about that?

BENBROOK: They are. The State Department just recently put out a statement urging Americans to use caution as this conflict between the United States and Iran continues. [17:04:46]

BENBROOK: They went on to say this. "Due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex, with the potential for unforeseen escalation.

The Department of State advises Americans worldwide and especially in the Middle East, to exercise increased caution."

Now, the State Department did issue a similar statement to this back in March.

JIMENEZ: All right. Julia Benbrook, appreciate the reporting for us there in New Jersey.

We're joined now by Democratic Representative Mike Quigley of Illinois. He serves on the House Intelligence and Appropriations Committees. Congressman, really appreciate the time.

I just want to start with your reaction to the news that two U.S. service members were killed in Jordan, and one is missing in action.

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Yes, it's an extraordinary tragedy. Our thoughts are with them, their families.

As you know, the total is now 16. My reaction is this is a president both desperate and lost. The only way out of this conflict right now seems to be nothing short of a humiliating withdrawal.

As the peace proposals seem to show, the U.S. gets nothing out of it. The strait is still closed. We've lost service members.

Inflation is increasing dramatically. The cost will be borne for years. And the regime seems to be emboldened.

Israel seems to be in a worse place than it was at the beginning of the war.

So, you know, look, the great importance here is that no more service members should be lost or injured. But the president seems to have got himself in a mess, and doesn't know how to get out. He had no plan going in, so it shouldn't be a surprise that there doesn't seem to be an exit strategy.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, when we talk about the total death toll of 16, not all of them have been by direct Iranian fire, but that death toll nonetheless has been one that has climbed over the past few months.

And I just wonder at this point, this is a situation where, as we understand, two U.S. troops were killed by direct Iranian fire. Does this now risk escalating the war further, or do you think it is possible to get back to the negotiating table? I just wonder where you see the U.S. going from here.

QUIGLEY: I mean, they can go back to the negotiating table, and there's always room for negotiating. And that's what we support. But the fact of the matter is, Iran seems to have no reason to

negotiate in good faith. They're in a position where they seem to be resilient enough. They have allies that seem to be willing to restock and reload them at this point in time.

So I don't have much faith that anything will happen with this because what was the purpose of this war? Was it regime change? Was it the nuclear program? None of that's going to happen.

So at this point in time, the best the president can hope for in negotiations is still something far short of the JCPOA, which he criticized. The Obama peace plan, the nuclear program -- treaty, in which Iran was in compliance.

Now, we're at a position where we would be lucky if we get something just short of that deal.

So there's always room for negotiating. But the fact of the matter is, regardless of all that, it doesn't seem like the plan for the U.S. will be any sort of net gain. It will be a net loss, an expensive one at that.

JIMENEZ: You know, you mentioned earlier that Israel is in a worse position now than they were before the beginning of this war. And you were one of more than 100 Democrats who this week voted to block billions of dollars in military aid to Israel.

The measure failed -- the measure failed, but is this -- or that effort, I should say, failed. The votes failed.

But is this emblematic, do you think, of a bigger split happening in the Democratic Party? I mean, why did you choose to vote against that?

QUIGLEY: You know, I think it's a trend that's going across Congress. I do believe that the Republicans very concerned about what's taking place.

My vote was a rejection. And attempting to show an ally that they can't do this anymore. The settler violence in the West Bank, the settlements, the incidents in Gaza -- this is far from over.

At some point in time, whether they are an ally or not, Israel has to stop what they're doing.

And I don't know any other way, any other leverage that we have as members of Congress other than to say we're not going to help you continue these sort of violent actions. These are out of the range of human decency. And that's why I voted that way.

Do I think this trend is going to continue? Absolutely. But regardless of whether it does with anyone else, I still think it's the right thing to do.

[17:09:52]

JIMENEZ: Staying on the legislative front, House Republicans have released a bill to fund the government through the midterms. It doesn't include, though, any changes to ICE policy, which you and other Democrats have been demanding for some time now.

It also comes, as we've just seen two fatal ICE shootings within a week. Will you support any form of bill moving forward there that does not include any changes to ICE policy?

QUIGLEY: Yes. I think we have to stress that the only things that the Democrats, we Democrats are asking for and the change in ICE policy is just the normal procedures any police force in the United States should follow. Judicial warrants, body cameras, no mask -- these are all basics that we should require and have required any police force. It's just normal decency and appropriate procedure.

But unless that happens, I'm not going to support them. I think most Democrats will. So unfortunately, we're back to where we were. I don't think anything really changes in the House until we win back the House in November and we get the gavels.

JIMENEZ: All right. Well, we will watch for those votes when they come as that legislation gets introduced. If they come, I guess, you know, we will -- we will watch that tally as well.

Congressman Mike Quigley, really appreciate the time. Thanks for being here.

QUIGLEY: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right. Still ahead, after days of heavy smoke and scorching temperatures, New York is now dealing with life-threatening flooding, as its being described. We'll explain.

Plus, immigration enforcement tactics facing scrutiny again after another deadly shooting by an ICE agent.

And then later Democrats race to select a new Senate nominee in Maine. We'll take you to the race.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:11:44]

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JIMENEZ: Breaking news.

The National Weather Service is calling today's flash flooding in New York life-threatening. People in basement apartments are being warned to move to higher floors.

And as you can see, area already dealing with a lot of water, grappling with heavy smoke from wildfires as well, as we've seen over the last few days.

Flights in and out of the New York area are facing delays and some cancellations as well. I want to bring in CNN's Gloria Pazmino, who's with us now. So,

Gloria, what's the latest on what you're seeing out in the area

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Omar. We have seen about two to four inches of rain that fell by early afternoon today alone. And when that happens in New York City, it means that we run into a lot of trouble on local streets and some highways because the city's infrastructure cannot keep up with that amount of rain that is falling that quickly.

So that's what's leading to some of the flooding on city streets that we have seen. There have been some highways that have been shut down as a result of flooding. We're also seeing some flooding that's affected the subway system from rain that's gone into the tracks. So we're seeing spread-out effects from this weather.

Now, if there could be any sort of silver lining to the amount of rain that we have gotten today is that it is expected to alleviate some of the smoke conditions that we have been experiencing here in the city for the past few days as a result of the Canadian fires.

The smoke has been blowing in this direction, and we have had terrible air quality here in New York City and across other areas along the Eastern Seaboard.

The quality has been really bad for the past few days. So this rain is supposed to help with that.

And that is especially good news going into tomorrow, Sunday, which of course, New York and New Jersey are hosting the World Cup final. The game will be played in the Meadowlands in New Jersey. So the fact that that smoke condition is going to be improved is very good news for that event.

But today, a lot of flooding causing some transportation headaches, some flooding on local streets, the Lower Manhattan area, as long as parts of Queens and Brooklyn have seen the most rain so far, Omar.

JIMENEZ: And we were just showing some of the images of what we've been seeing flooding across a lot of the roads across the area right now.

How is the weather impacting airports in the New York area specifically?

PAZMINO: Yes. We are seeing some delays between 30 minutes to an hour for flights out of the area airports, including LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy Airport and Newark Airport. And that means likely bad news for folks who are trying to get into the area again ahead of tomorrow, potentially for the World Cup.

So between 30 minutes to an hour. If you're traveling today, make sure to check ahead before you head out to the airport. But the weather is expected to continue throughout this evening, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right. Gloria Pazmino, really appreciate it. Meanwhile, thick smoke is drifting south from Canada, where nearly a

thousand wildfires are burning. The haze has created orange skies and put more than 100 million people under air quality alerts in the Midwest and East Coast.

You can also see some of the active wildfires there in northern Minnesota as well. But the storm system underway now could help clear out some of the smoke in the region.

[17:19:47]

JIMENEZ: Meteorologist Melissa Nord has an update on what to expect, including for people watching the World Cup.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA NORD, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The strong thunderstorms and the wind direction shift really helps to scour out the smoke in the forecast by first thing on Sunday morning. You can see on the map here, throughout the day we start clear. A little bit of smoke comes in, but the concentration of the smoke very low.

When we were talking about Friday and Saturday morning, the concentration on this map was showing all the colors in the red and even into some purple colors. So that really dense smoke is gone throughout Sunday.

And we're also seeing the high humidity from Saturday is also gone with very stagnant, humid air. It was hot outside.

Now Sunday, look at the purple and really tan colors showing up on the map. That's really dry air, making it feel much more comfortable outside.

So for the forecast, 3:00 kickoff will be in the low 80s and not feeling much hotter than that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right. Melissa Nord really appreciate it.

And check out the CNN weather app. It can get you the data before you -- or get you the data you need before the storm so you can plan your day with fewer surprises.

Download the app on IOS today. I use it. It's pretty great.

Still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, another fatal shooting by an ICE officer reignites the focus on immigration enforcement tactics. We'll get into the discussion next.

[17:21:06]

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JIMENEZ: Breaking news tonight. U.S. Central Command says two U.S. service members were killed in an

Iranian missile attack in Jordan, and another is missing. Central Command says it happened Friday during Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.

Four other American service members were medically evacuated to hospitals but have been discharged. Others suffered minor injuries but have since returned to duty.

The identity of the service members killed will be withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin are notified. But we will continue to keep you updated on that story as it develops.

Meanwhile, new questions over ICE tactics after two men died in Texas -- or were killed in Texas and Maine this month during immigration enforcement operations.

It brings to mind what happened in Minnesota earlier this year. The fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who was acting as a legal observer. And then two weeks later, in the same area, Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, was shot and killed by federal officers there. That was nearly six months ago.

That, though, is how long it's taken for Hennepin County prosecutors in Minneapolis to finally get their hands on the evidence they may need to help evaluate whether these deadly shootings were legal.

Joining me now is Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. Look, it took months of pressure and a lawsuit before federal investigators finally turned over this key evidence, as I understand, including hard drives and body camera footage.

Let's just start with the evidence you now have received from the federal government. What did you get and what difference do you expect it to make?

MARY MORIARTY, HENNEPIN COUNTY ATTORNEY, MINNESOTA: Well, thank you for inviting me to be here. This was a major breakthrough that we have been working on over the last, I would say, four to five weeks.

We've been having conversations with the local federal partners, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the BCA. We had the evidence that the BCA obtained, but we did not have any of the evidence collected by the FBI.

And so now we've been given, for instance, Renee Good's car, the BCA has that, and they have processed it. We've been given police reports, body cam. It's so voluminous, we haven't really had an opportunity to go through it all.

I know our teams are working on this over the weekend. We've been spending a lot of time on it. But our expectation is that we will have all of the evidence collected by the federal government, which will allow us to make a good decision about whether charges are appropriate. JIMENEZ: You know, when you talk about the last four to five weeks,

one of the things that happened, I think on just the other side of that was Cristian Castro was taken into custody. And for our viewers, Castro was the ICE agent that Minnesota prosecutors accused of shooting a Venezuelan immigrant and lying about it. He was taken into custody in Texas.

Did the breakthrough there change things at all in terms of how you were speaking with the federal government and sharing of evidence?

MORIARTY: We've been speaking with, and I do have to differentiate between the local federal government, meaning the U.S. Attorney's office, the FBI and the administration.

I would say the conversations never really stopped here locally. I think there was recognition that we've always worked together and that this was just not the appropriate way to approach this situation. Because the BCA was on the scene when Julio Sosa Solis was shot in the thigh, we actually had most of that evidence. We have also shared that evidence and all the evidence that we have with the U.S. Attorney's Office.

But because the BCA had that we were able to file charges and have him arrested in Texas. He is in a jail in Texas, and we are going through the extradition proceedings.

We also, as you know, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., which we thought we had a good chance of prevailing on. That lawsuit, was asking a court in Washington, D.C. to order the federal government to hand over the evidence that we were seeking, which is actually what we got last week. Not from the court, but from our agreement with the federal government.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, obviously, you brought up Texas, but Texas also in the spotlight for a different reason; one of the two places, Maine as well, where we also saw deadly immigration enforcement operations or operations that turned deadly.

And last week, I spoke to Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare out of the Houston area.

[17:29:57]

And he told me, he had reached out to other Jurisdictions to talk through sort of a roadmap of how to conduct an independent investigation from the local level. And I know you all were making similar calls in those initial stages of your own investigations.

Did you speak to D.A. tier at all about some best practices or how to even gather the infrastructure for doing something like an independent investigation?

MORIARTY: They did reach out to us, and our team that's been working on this has had conversations with them. I think where we can benefit him and anywhere else that has this happen is we had to go through this for the first time. And there were many things about this that were extremely complicated, like the aspect of federal removal, you know, supremacy clause immunity. How do you investigate when you don't have all of the evidence? So, we are -- we're happy to share everything that we've learned with Sean's office, and we're happy to share everything that we've learned with any other D.A. who finds themselves in this situation.

JIMENEZ: You know, this week, the Star Tribune ran an editorial saying that despite the community uproar in Minnesota, ICE is still acting with impunity in the rest of the country, as they described it. And the editorial board wrote: "This cannot be something we casually accept, whether these deaths happen in Minnesota or elsewhere."

Obviously, you have professional obligations you are doing. You are prosecutors. But I wonder what you make of that, as you see similar things to what happened in Minneapolis play out in other jurisdictions around the country.

MORIARTY: Well, to the extent that the federal government obstructs local law enforcement from getting access to the investigations, and frankly, to the extent that they are not doing their own investigations, is a huge blow to democracy and to the trust of the American people.

We expect that if -- that if law enforcement causes the death of a community member, that there will be a full and complete and fair investigation. We expect that a decision will be announced as to whether charges are appropriate, and we expect that to be transparent.

What we do not expect is to have the administration come out within minutes after community members are shot and killed, as with happened with Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and claim that they were domestic terrorists, which wasn't true.

But there is no way the American people can believe that there is going to be justice or accountability, or even a fair and impartial investigation from the federal government, if that's the position that they maintain. And so, I think to the extent that that editorial is trying to capture, hey, it is really critical. It is part of democracy for the government to be transparent, and wherever the evidence leads us or them, you have got to make a decision here. You can't just call people names. You can't just assume you know what happened based on videos. You have to do this the right way, and the community and the American people expect that.

JIMENEZ: Mary Moriarty, really appreciate the time. Thank you for being here.

MORIARTY: Of course, thank you.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

All right. Still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, a big week coming up in Maine on the political side of things, as Democrats race to replace Graham Platner as the party's nominee for U.S. Senate. We'll tell you what to expect in the coming days. Next.

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[17:37:49]

JIMENEZ: The contest for Maine's Democratic U.S. Senate nomination is heating up as party leaders in the state scrambled to replace former nominee, Graham Platner.

Now, Platner dropped out after he was accused of rape, an allegation he denies. But now a crowded field of hopefuls are rushing to gather enough signatures to compete in a snap election on July 25th. Hundreds of delegates who are mostly being chosen this weekend are going to take part in the snap election.

So, joining me now is the politics editor for the Portland Press Herald, Kirby Wilson. All right, Kirby, walk us through what is happening this week and how are these delegates being chosen?

KIRBY WILSON, POLITICS EDITOR, THE PORTLAND PRESS HERALD: All right. It's quite an intricate process. So, at each of Maine's 16 counties, there is a Democratic committee meeting, and that's where they are going to choose the delegates. And some of the -- but some of the meetings are virtual, some of them are in-person. All of the voting is being done on an app that's run through the parties, and there is a whole bunch of influencing going on from the candidates to the potential delegates. More than or nearly 4,000 people have signed up to be potential delegates at the July 25th convention in Bangor.

JIMENEZ: So, let's talk about the candidates who are vying to replace Platner. Thursday night we saw eight of them debate. I mean, were there any really big takeaways from that evening? Is any one candidate sort of, or any set of candidates sort of expected to elevate above others?

WILSON: Yes. I think the candidates that are the big favorites are the ones who ran in June for various positions and lost, in some cases, quite narrowly to the eventual nominees. And so, those four candidates are Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Senate president from Maine Troy Jackson, and the former Maine Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Nirav Shah. Those three ran for governor. And Jordan Wood ran for the second congressional district.

So, they have pre-existing political organizing networks that they can draw from, as they try to gather support for the -- for the convention in -- later this month. And they all debated. Those four candidates debated in -- there is sort of a two-part debate.

[17:40:05]

It was like the better-known candidates, and then, some of the political newcomers and lesser-known candidates in the second debate.

And in the first debate, the big takeaways were really that none of the candidates have the same kind of political fire that Graham Platner had. And so, they are all going to have a little bit of a struggle, I think, to unite the party around their message in the way that Platner was able to do so effectively. JIMENEZ: And, you know, the gap that Platner leaves is twofold: one, in popularity and sort of momentum, as you just laid out there, but also in terms of ideology, he was in a certain part of the Democratic Party that is different from other parts of the Democratic Party in a schism that we have seen play out.

How is that playing out in this race? And are there any candidates that offer messaging similar to Platner?

WILSON: Yes, it's quite interesting. I think, all of the candidates are trying to say that they will take up the mantle of the grassroots energy that Graham Platner was able to harness, and they will take up the mantle of being the progressive champion that he was, but without any of the personal baggage that he -- that, you know, eventually dragged him down and out of the race.

The candidate to look for that takes up the mantle the most on the policy side, I think, is certainly Jackson. Jackson has been a progressive from a rural part of the state for a long time, he's won in Trump areas as a progressive before, which is sort of the buffet that Platner offered voters. And he was Platner's choice to be governor.

Platner ranked Jackson first on his ranked choice voting ballot for governor. In Maine, there is ranked choice voting, so, you know exactly how people stack up preference-wise.

But the other candidates are quite progressive as well. We actually did a voter guide at the -- at the Press Herald where we asked all of the candidates the same questions about policy. We asked them about Medicare for all. We asked them about supporting Israel. We asked them about a whole bunch of things. And there is very little policy daylight in their articulated positions.

So, it's really going to come down to which candidate that Maine Democrats think can harness the energy that Platner had, because they are all really quite progressive.

JIMENEZ: And look, this is all leading into a race against Susan Collins, and it was already going to be close in an uphill battle when Graham Platner was the nominee. And here we have this set of candidates trying to vie for that sort of same energy and momentum. How does this shakeup impact Democrats' chances of unseating Republican Senator Susan Collins?

WILSON: In the short term, it can't be good, right? I mean, Senator Collins now has a spending and funding advantage to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, just -- you know, in terms of scheduled ads, Republicans are beating Democrats now. It's like 60 or 70 to one in this race.

But in terms of maybe ultimately convincing some of the voters, the moderate voters that Graham Platner might not have ever won over, it might be a blessing in disguise because, although, Graham Platner fired up the progressive base like no candidate basically Maine has ever seen, Maine often teaches us that these races are won by the median voter, and so, if the eventual nominee can do better with those voters and steal some of those away from Collins, Democrats might have a better chance with them than they would have with Platner.

JIMENEZ: Obviously, a crucial race to the balance of power in Congress heading into these Midterms. Kirby Wilson, really appreciate you laying all that out for us. Thanks for taking the time.

WILSON: Thanks for having me.

JIMENEZ: All right.

This Thursday, "A CNN SPECIAL EVENT: MAINE DEMOCRATIC SENATE DEBATE" live. You can catch it right here on CNN at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, or you can watch on the CNN app.

Meanwhile, the field has shrunk to the final two, but the stakes are the biggest of all. We are not talking about the Maine Senate race. We are talking about soccer. After the break, we are live in New York and New Jersey as the final teams prepare to find out who will be crowned World Cup champions. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:48:49]

JIMENEZ: We are less than 24 hours from soccer's biggest match. Spain and Argentina will face off in the World Cup Final tomorrow. Outside New York City at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, capping off six weeks of amazing competition, fantastic finishes. If you have been watching, it's been an absolute amazing pleasure.

CNN's Amanda Davies joins us now. So, Amanda, I just want to start with what can we expect tomorrow? Maybe the unexpected?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORT ANCHOR: Maybe the unexpected. I mean, we have seen from Argentina in this tournament, haven't we? You can never write them off. But we have got the European champions up against the defending world champions as the climax to, as you rightly say, what has been an incredible six weeks.

I mean, June the 11th seems a very long time ago, doesn't it? The opening day, so much has happened. It's the biggest occasion for both of these two sides and these two sets of players. Lamine Yamal, saying the biggest in his history.

And we actually this morning got up early, went out to New Jersey to the Spanish team hotel to see their -- some of their last-minute preparations ahead of their first World Cup Final in 16 years.

These fans had been outside the hotel since 5:00 in the morning, hoping to get a glimpse of the superstars.

[17:50:04]

They got away from 19-year-old Yamal there. And we got some good news for those Spanish fans. I was speaking to the team's technical director, Aitor Karanka, and he confirmed that Yamal will be fit to play 100 percent as he put it, despite the fact he missed some of the team's training earlier this week.

The weather, however, today here in New York put paid to their final training session. They were forced to go indoors.

Argentina's session was delayed, but it's fascinating for all the Spanish fans outside their team hotel. There is no doubt it's the Argentinian fans who have been dominating here on the streets of New York City, and it is Messi. That one man in particular whose name is emblazoned on the back of so many of the shirts. As we are expecting to get that first showdown between the young pretender Yamal and, of course, the man who has very much confirmed his status as the GOAT, Messi.

But the Argentinian love for him cannot be overstated, even to the point it can sometimes cause a few domestic complications. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is Leo Messi, and then my wife, and then my family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait, what? What? No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, yes. He is the love of my life. Yes. He is the most important people in my -- in my life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was Messi then --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIES: Amazing. I mean, Omar. He had a chance there to row back on what he said.

JIMENEZ: He did.

DAVIES: But there was no doubting that, was said?

JIMENEZ: He doubled and tripled down with her saying right there. Messi, this is what you are doing to people. This is what you are doing. This is -- this is how much love is out there.

DAVIES: And to make -- to make it worse, he has a ticket for the game and she doesn't.

JIMENEZ: Oh, you see. That -- that's how you know the priorities were there from the start. Actions speak louder than words.

Amanda Davies, great to see you. Can't wait for this match tomorrow. Appreciate the time.

All right. Meanwhile, fans are coming out in droves to support their team before tomorrow's game. We are at the stadium and with fans. So, I want to start with Elizabeth Perez at the stadium at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, where Argentina and Spain are set to clash.

Elizabeth, what are you seeing out there?

ELIZABETH PEREZ, CNN ESPANOL SPORTS JOURNALIST AND ANCHOR: Hello, Omar.

Well, we are hours away, as you know, of this final between Spain and Argentina. And the atmosphere is very calm right now. I think, there is a little traffic, but tomorrow is going to be a different story. Fans will start coming early, early in the morning because, you know that one hour and a half before the kickoff, we are going to have the ceremony, the opening ceremony.

So, there will be a lot of excitement. But both teams, and this is a fact that is very interesting, will play the first all-Spanish- speaking final since 1930. That first final was between Uruguay and Argentina, and Uruguay won in Montevideo.

The weather, as you know, has been raining all day early this morning. The forecast says that tomorrow is going to be sunny, the day of the final. So, we are very hopeful that, that is the case because we know that we are working, and the weather can facilitate or make more things complicate. The two teams have very similar records. They have played each other a total of 14 times. Each has six wings, and they have drawn twice.

Their only official World Cup meeting was in the group stage of the 1966 World Cup in England, and Argentina won that match. Let's see what happens tomorrow.

As Amanda said, Spain canceled the training session because of the weather. Argentina trained for a short time, but this is not going to change what the coaches have in mind. So, let's see what this World Cup is going to bring tomorrow. If Spain will win their second title or Argentina will win their fourth. We will see it.

JIMENEZ: And look, we are going to have a lot of excited fans no matter what as we go into the start of the match, and that is what we were seeing, where CNN's Maria Santana is, who joins us from Times Square in New York.

And Maria, this has become the go-to spot for a lot of World Cup fans. What are you seeing out there?

MARIA SANTANA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it has. But today, Omar, Times Square belongs to the Argentinians. I want Tyler, my photographer to show you the thousands and thousands of Argentinian fans that have gathered here for their classic banderazo.

Now, that means a waving of the flag to, you know, just cheer their team on for tomorrow's match. And they have been chanting a song all afternoon called Vamos Argentina.

[17:55:04]

What does Vamos Argentina mean?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Let's go Argentina, you know I always love you. Today we have to win to be the first one.

SANTANA: The first. And, you know, of course, they want them to win. I also spoke to a fan earlier who told me what traditions they have, what they expect, and of course, if this World Cup is generating as much excitement as expected. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAZMIN CHAO, FAN OF ARGENTINA: I cannot give you a result. We are a very superstitious people, and we don't talk about that. In Spanish. We say, mufa, which means, like, very bad luck, and it's mufa to like talk about the results, so we won't.

SANTANA: How did you get tickets?

CHAO: With a lot of effort and making not very super smart financial decisions.

SANTANA: I can imagine. Super expensive.

CHAO: Super expensive. Yes, but it's so worth it.

It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And Maria --

SANTANA: Well, and Omar --

JIMENEZ: Yes, go for it.

SANTANA: Omar, as you know, I mean, the Spaniards are not taking this. They are not taking this line down. They think they are going to win, of course. But these fans are super excited. They want me to get in the middle of this. At some point, I may, but not now because I don't think you would be able to see me if I go in there, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yes, yes. It looks like if you go in, you might not come back out for a while. They are going to -- they are going to adopt you as one of their own.

SANTANA: That's right.

JIMENEZ: No matter what, it's going to be an amazing match playing out behind Elizabeth Perez tomorrow.

Thank you for being with us. And Maria Santana, enjoy the party out there. We will check in with you in a little bit. SANTANA: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Thank you both, and we'll have some more news coming up in just a few minutes. For right now, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)