Messi Hails Lamine Yamal as ‘Truly Amazing’ Ahead of Argentina vs Spain World Cup Final
Speaking ahead of the match, Messi, 39, who now plays for Inter Miami, hailed the 19-year-old Barcelona winger for his incredible rise and performances this season.
Photo: Courtesy.
By Robert Mutasi
Argentina captain Lionel Messi has praised Spain’s teenage superstar Lamine Yamal as a truly amazing player ahead of the blockbuster FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Argentina and Spain.
The final, which will be played on Sunday, July 19, at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, will bring together football’s greatest icon and its brightest young star in what many are calling a final written by Hollywood.
Speaking ahead of the match, Messi, 39, who now plays for Inter Miami, hailed the 19-year-old Barcelona winger for his incredible rise and performances this season.
In a statement shared on social media by ESPN FC, Messi expressed his admiration for Yamal, who has been a standout performer for both Barcelona and Spain. Argentina’s legendary captain said Yamal is truly amazing, while adding that Argentina will do everything possible to stop him from making history.
“Lamine is truly amazing,” Messi said. His comments come as Spain prepare to face defending world champions Argentina for football’s biggest prize.
Messi also finally reacted to the famous viral photo that has taken over the internet again – the picture from 2007 where a 20-year-old Messi is seen bathing a baby as part of a charity calendar photoshoot organized by Catalan newspaper Diario Sport and UNICEF at the FC Barcelona stadium.
That baby was Lamine Yamal. At the time, Yamal was just a few months old, and Messi was still a young player at Barcelona. The image was taken for a good cause and was forgotten for years, until Yamal became the new jewel of La Masia.
Now, 19 years later, that baby and that young man will meet on the pitch as opponents in a World Cup final.
“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,” Messi said on Friday.
The story is even more special because their journeys are so similar. Both Messi and Yamal were trained at La Masia, Barcelona’s famous academy. Both made their debut for the first team at a very young age, both are left-footed stars, and both went on to become world-class players for Barcelona.
On Sunday night at MetLife Stadium, Messi will lead defending champions Argentina, who booked their place in the final after a 2-1 comeback win over England, while Yamal will lead European champions Spain.
For Messi, it could be his last ever World Cup match and a chance to lift the trophy again after winning in 2022. For Yamal, it is a chance to become the youngest player to win the World Cup and score in a final.
From a bathtub photoshoot in 2007 to the biggest stage in world football in 2026, the story of Messi and Yamal has come full circle.
About Author
