The 2026 North America World Cup final will feature a matchup between Argentina and Spain, drawing attention to a photo of Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal taken 19 years ago.
According to a report by Yonhap News on July 16, citing the Associated Press, Yamal, who was a newborn in the 2007 photo, has now become a key player for the Spanish national team and will face Messi on the World Cup stage for the championship.
The photo was taken in the fall of 2007 at Camp Nou in Barcelona during a charity calendar shoot for the newspaper Sport and UNICEF. At the event, FC Barcelona players posed with children, and a family that included Yamal was paired with the then-20-year-old Messi. Yamal's mother, originally from Equatorial Guinea, is also featured in the image.
In the photo, a young Messi, with long hair, is seen bathing the infant Yamal in a plastic tub. The image gained worldwide attention when Yamal's father shared it on social media in 2024.
Joan Monfort, the photographer, recalled in an interview with the AP that Messi was very shy and reserved at the time. He described entering the locker room to find a baby in a tub and noted that Messi initially didn't know how to hold the child.
Monfort expressed that the connection between the two players through a single photograph is a "remarkable coincidence" and described it as a moment when "the stars aligned."
According to Yonhap News, the two, who met by chance in a Barcelona locker room 19 years ago, will now compete for the World Cup trophy. Messi is seeking a second consecutive title for Argentina, while Yamal aims for Spain's second championship and its first in 16 years.
The 2026 North America World Cup final is set to take place on July 20 at 4 a.m. KST at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, USA.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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