World Cup final will see Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal face off for first time ever 19 years after viral baby pic

SOME stories are simply too unbelievable to make up. Nineteen years ago, a fresh-faced Lionel Messi cradled and bathed a six-month-old baby during a charity photoshoot for a Barcelona and UNICEF calendar. A 20-year-old Lionel Messi bathing a six-month-old Lamine Yamal is already one of the most iconic photos in football history Credit: AP Baby Lamine laughs away in the presence of greatness Credit: AP On Sunday night at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, that same baby – Lamine Yamal – will walk out opposite his childhood idol as Spain and Argentina battle for the biggest prize in football. It will be the first time the pair have ever shared the same pitch competitively. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Messi said on Friday: “That picture with Lamine, it’s something crazy. Life is full of surprises. “Now we are facing each other in a final after a photo was taken of us when he was a baby, it’s just insane.” If there was ever a World Cup final that felt written by Hollywood, this is it. The famous photographs have become some of the sport’s most iconic images. They came about after a Catalan newspaper held a raffle to find babies to feature alongside Barcelona players in a UNICEF charity calendar shoot. Yamal, then just six months old, was one of only 12 children selected. Most read in Sport WORLD CUP 2026 FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS At the moment this photo was taken, nobody would have predicted what would happen 18-and-a-half years later Credit: AP The similarities between Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi are spooky Credit: AFP By pure chance – or perhaps fate – he was paired with Messi, who was only 20-years-old himself and still at the beginning of a career that would change football forever. Back then, nobody could have imagined the smiling infant in Messi’s arms would one day become the player tipped to inherit his crown. Yet there is an eerie symmetry to everything that has followed. Both burst onto the scene as fearless left-footed forwards cutting in from the right-wing, gliding past defenders with the same balance, close control and unmatched confidence. It has even prompted fans to joke that Messi somehow passed on his magic during that charity photoshoot nearly two decades ago. The numbers make the comparison even more remarkable. Messi had scored just 11 senior goals and won one La Liga title and one Champions League by the time he celebrated his 19th birthday. Yamal, who only turned 19 on Monday, has already netted 56 career goals, lifted three La Liga titles, won the Copa del Rey, and helped Spain lift Euro 2024 when he was just 16. MASTER VS APPRENTICE For all the inevitable comparisons, Sunday feels less like a battle between equals and more like a symbolic passing of the torch. Messi arrives in New Jersey chasing history one last time as Argentina look to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to defend what Fifa President Gianni Infantino once called “the most iconic, the most beautiful, the most incredible trophy in the world.” The Argentina captain already owns one World Cup winner’s medal, eight Ballon d’Or awards and countless other honours. England were startled by Messi’s magic on Wednesday night as he ignited a famous comeback by setting up both goals Credit: Getty Messi picked up his EIGHTH Ballon d’Or in 2023 Credit: AFP via Getty Images Now, at 39, he stands on the brink of leading Argentina to a fourth World Cup title and strengthening his case for a remarkable NINTH Ballon d’Or. The Inter Miami megastar has been the outstanding player of the World Cup, scoring eight goals to sit level with Kylian Mbappé in the Golden Boot race and looking well placed to win a third World Cup Golden Ball – awarded to the tournament’s best player. Yamal’s tournament has been very different. The teenager has scored only once against Saudi Arabia, but has been one of the driving forces behind a Spain side built on collective brilliance rather than individual statistics. His influence stretches far beyond goals. DEJA VU Just as Messi once inspired Barcelona’s golden generation, Yamal has become the face of a new era built around La Masia. The parallels between club and country are striking. Before Spain conquered the world in 2010, Barcelona had just won back-to-back league titles under Pep Guardiola with a squad built around academy graduates including Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol. Spain captain Iker Casillas lifts the World Cup aloft in 2010 Credit: AFP Barcelona’s starting line-up in the 2011 Champions League final featured seven La Masia players, including Messi Credit: EPA Spain’s World Cup-winning squad that summer featured seven Barcelona players and eight La Masia graduates. It could well have been nine. The authorities in Spain did everything to try and get Messi to represent La Roja having acquired Spanish citizenship in 2005, but instead he wanted to play for his beloved Argentina. Fast forward to 2026 and history seems to be repeating itself. Barcelona have again won successive league titles, this time under Hansi Flick, while Spain’s squad contains eight Barcelona players and eight products of La Masia. Yamal is now the leading light of a new generation featuring the likes of Pau Cubarsi, Gavi and Dani Olmo, who echo the core that dominated world football in the late 2000s and early 2010s. There are even more curious links. Spain beat the Netherlands to win their only World Cup on July 11, 2010 – just two days before Yamal celebrated his third birthday. At that point Messi was already regarded as the world’s finest player and would later collect the second of his eight Ballon d’Or trophies. Now, the two nations meet again with everything on the line. EUROPE’S BEST VS SOUTH AMERICA’S BEST They were actually supposed to face each other in the Finalissima in Qatar in March before the fixture was abandoned because of security concerns surrounding conflict in the Middle East. Instead, football has delivered something even bigger. Spain arrive unbeaten in 37 matches, excluding penalty shootout defeats. Argentina are chasing another chapter in an extraordinary dynasty after winning the Copa America in 2021 and 2024, the Finalissima in 2022 and the World Cup later that same year. Throughout that chapter, the core of the squad is the same – led by the numinous figure of Messi. For Yamal, it is another chance to measure himself against greatness. Last year he faced Cristiano Ronaldo in the Nations League final, where the Portuguese icon scored in a 2-2 draw before Portugal prevailed on penalties. Now comes another generational showdown against the player so many believe is the greatest of all-time. FULL CIRCLE MOMENT It is funny how football has a habit of coming full circle, but this is on a different level. It was 18-and-a-half years ago when Messi gently held a baby in his arms for a charity calendar. On Sunday, just days after turning 19, that same child will walk out beside him before trying to stop his idol lifting another World Cup. Messi was 20 when that unforgettable photograph was taken. Now, with almost exactly 20 years between them, football’s generational talents will finally collide on the grandest stage of them all. Comment now