“Madness” of the 2026 World Cup... Messi comments on his photo with Lamine Gamal (video). Messi before the World Cup final: “Facing Lamine Gamal is crazy.”
Lamine Jamal's grandmother reveals her reaction if he won the World Cup with the Spanish team (video),
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Trump ignites controversy at the 2026 World Cup celebration: Messi decided the match in an instant.
Credit: Charly TRIBALLEAU and Roberto SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images (CNN) - Argentine star Lionel Messi said that the famous photo that brings him together with the young Spanish player Lamine Yamal is “amazing,” before the “Tango” confrontation with the “El Matador” in the 2026 World Cup final.
In statements reported by Euro Sport on Saturday, Lionel Messi said: “Lamine plays for a club that I love and I always wish him the best. He is one of the most prominent players in the world, and he, at the age of nineteen, has a promising career ahead of him. It is a great opportunity for him to achieve a historic achievement (by winning the World Cup title), which is what we will try to prevent this time.”
Fans re-published a photo dating back to 2007 on social media platforms, taken during a charity photo shoot organized by the local newspaper Diario Sport in cooperation with UNICEF, and showing Messi, the Barcelona star at the time, helping to bathe Lamine Yamal, who was 6 months old in a plastic tub.
Argentine star Lionel Messi described the circulated photo of him helping to wash baby Lamin Yamal nearly two decades ago as "crazy", at a time when the two players are preparing to lead their country's national teams in the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday.
Argentina, the defending champion, qualified for the final match after its victory over England, setting up an anticipated date with Spain, facing off against Messi (39 years old) and the promising player Yamal (19 years old), who many see as the legitimate heir to the Argentine star’s stature.
They are scheduled to play against each other during the match between Argentina and Spain, at MetLife Stadium, next Sunday, in the closing scene of the World Cup.
Speaking during the Fanatics Fest in New York, in response to a question from retired American football star Tom Brady, Messi said: “That picture was crazy.
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“Facing Lamine Gamal is crazy.”
Context
Huge money awaits Spain and Argentina, both sides of the 2026 World Cup final.
Speaking during the Fanatics Fest in New York, in response to a question from retired American football star Tom Brady, Messi said: “That picture was crazy.
Messi before the World Cup final: “Facing Lamine Gamal is crazy.”
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Lamine Jamal's grandmother reveals her reaction when he won the World Cup with the Spanish team (video).
Messi before the World Cup final: “Facing Lamine Gamal is crazy.”
Huge money awaits Spain and Argentina, both sides of the 2026 World Cup final.
Before the consolation match in the 2026 World Cup.
Before the consolation match in the 2026 World Cup.
They are scheduled to play against each other during the match between Argentina and Spain, at MetLife Stadium, next Sunday, in the final scene of the World Cup.
They are scheduled to play against each other during the match between Argentina and Spain, at MetLife Stadium, next Sunday, in the final scene of the World Cup.
The Yamal family was chosen to participate in the photo session based on a public lottery that took place in the city of Mataro, near Barcelona. Coincidence led the baby, who became the first star for Barcelona and the Spanish national team, to meet Messi, who was 20 years old at the time and taking his first steps towards international stardom.
Despite his advanced age (39 years) and playing outside the five major leagues in Europe, Messi succeeded in leading Argentina to the World Cup final for the second time in a row, while Yamal is seen as a prominent candidate to succeed him on the throne of the game after he led Spain to win the European Nations Cup and won 3 Spanish League titles with Barcelona before completing his nineteenth year.
Argentina national team captain Lionel Messi warned against reducing the strength of the Spanish national team to its young star, Lamine Gamal, stressing that the Albiceleste competitor in the World Cup final includes a group of distinguished players and has a clear playing identity.
Messi said, during a meeting with fans in New York, before the final of the 2026 World Cup: “Spain is not the only one to blame, it includes very wonderful players and has a distinctive playing style, and we also have our weapons.”
Messi praised Lamine Yamal's talent, describing him as a "world reference" despite his young age, and added: "He has a chance to achieve a historic achievement, but we will try to give our best so that that does not happen this time."
