The 2026 World Cup final will bring two players linked by an unlikely story face to face. Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi face each other next Sunday, at 4pm Brasília time, at the MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, in the United States.
From Messi's bath to the title duel: the photo that predicted the World Cup final
The 2026 World Cup final will bring two players linked by an unlikely story face to face. Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi face each other next Sunday, at 4pm Brasília time, at the MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, in the United States....
At the time, the Spaniard's parents entered their son in a draw promoted by Unicef ??in partnership with the Barcelona Foundation, an initiative aimed at protecting children in vulnerable situations and encouraging education through sport. The family ended up being selected for a photo session with Messi, who was still a promising young player at the...
- The family ended up being selected for a photo session with Messi, who was still a promising young player at the beginning of his career in Barcelona's first team.
- The images were taken by photographer Joan Monfort for the Spanish newspaper Sport.
- In one of them, Messi appears bathing baby Lamine Yamal.
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The first meeting between the two took place in 2007, when Yamal was just a few months old. At the time, the Spaniard's parents entered their son in a draw promoted by Unicef ??in partnership with the Barcelona Foundation, an initiative aimed at protecting children in vulnerable situations and encouraging education through sport.
The family ended up being selected for a photo session with Messi, who was still a promising young player at the beginning of his career in Barcelona's first team.
The images were taken by photographer Joan Monfort for the Spanish newspaper Sport. In one of them, Messi appears bathing baby Lamine Yamal. Years later, the record gained repercussion due to the coincidence between their careers.
"It was an accident of life. At that moment, it was impossible to imagine what would happen almost 20 years later. It's a combination of circumstances that happens once", said Monfort when recalling the session.
The photographer also said that Messi was quite shy and showed little familiarity when holding a child. According to him, the idea for the photograph came up the night before, while he was bathing his own daughter.
The image circulated with force again on the eve of the World Cup decision. During an interview with the DAZN platform, Yamal was asked about the possibility of facing Messi in a World Cup final.
"I've grown a little, I think, and so has Leo. I hope I can face him, since that didn't happen in the Finals", replied the Spaniard, smiling.
The clash between the Eurocup and Copa América champions was scheduled for March 27, at the Lusail National Stadium, in Qatar, but was canceled due to the war in the Middle East.
Now, the reunion will take place on the biggest stage possible. Spain and Argentina decide the world title on Sunday, in a final that transforms a childhood photograph into one of the main symbols of the World Cup.
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