Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal will face each other in Sunday's 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, 19 years after a chance encounter produced one of football's most resonant images.
The backstory emerged after Yamal's father published a 2007 photograph showing a then-20-year-old Messi bathing Yamal, then a five-month-old infant, in a locker-room tub at Barcelona's Camp Nou. Photographer Joan Monfort shot the image during a 25-minute UNICEF charity calendar session involving first-team players and children at risk of social exclusion, drawing families from the Rocafonda neighbourhood of Mataró, Yamal's hometown. The infant's identity remained unknown until the recent social-media post.
Both finalists earned dramatic semi-final victories. Spain defeated France 2-0 in Arlington with goals from Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro, while Argentina overcame England 2-1 in extra time through strikes by Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez.