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19 Years Later, Messi’s Baby Photo With Yamal Becomes A World Cup Final Moment
19 Years Later, Messi’s Baby Photo With Yamal Becomes A World Cup Final Moment
19 Years Later, Messi’s Baby Photo With Yamal Becomes A World Cup Final Moment
19 Years Later, Messi’s Baby Photo With Yamal Becomes A World Cup Final Moment
19 Years Later, Messi’s Baby Photo With Yamal Becomes A World Cup Final Moment

19 Years Later, Messi’s Baby Photo With Yamal Becomes A World Cup Final Moment

Yekkirala Akshitha
July 17, 2026

Nineteen years after Lionel Messi was pictured giving a gentle bubble bath to a five month old Lamine Yamal, the two footballing icons are finally set to meet on the pitch, with Argentina and Spain both booking their place in Sunday's 2026 FIFA World Cup final at New York New Jersey Stadium.

The heartwarming throwback photographs date to 2007 , when a shy 20 year old Messi, then rising through the ranks at FC Barcelona, took part in a charity calendar shoot organised by UNICEF and Catalan newspaper Diario Sport. Photographer Joan Monfort captured Messi carefully bathing a soapy baby Yamal in a plastic tub, with Yamal's mother, Sheila Ebana, gently guiding him through the unfamiliar task, while another frame shows a beaming Messi cradling the infant wrapped snugly in a towel. Yamal's family had won the moment through a neighbourhood raffle in Mataró, Spain, and the images resurfaced only in 2024, after Yamal's father shared them online, calling the photos the beginning of two legends.

Since then, Yamal has blossomed into one of football's brightest young talents , debuting for Barcelona at just 15, lifting the Euro 2024 trophy, and inspiring Spain's run to the final by helping eliminate France 2-0 in the semi final, a day after turning 19.

Argentina, meanwhile, produced one of the tournament's most dramatic comebacks to book their own final berth, defeating England 2-1 in a fiercely contested Atlanta semi final. Anthony Gordon had given England the lead early in the second half, but a stunning late Messi inspired turnaround saw Enzo Fernandez equalise in the 85th minute before substitute Lautaro Martínez headed home a dramatic stoppage time winner, sending the defending champions through to a second consecutive final. It marked the first time Messi, at 39, had ever faced England competitively, and he will now become only the second player in history, after Brazil's Cafú, to feature in three World Cup finals.

Sunday's showpiece pits the reigning South American and European champions against each other for the first time, closing a remarkable circle that began with an awkward bathtub photoshoot nearly two decades ago and now culminates in football's grandest stage.

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19 Years Later, Messi’s Baby Photo With Yamal Becomes A World Cup Final Moment - The Morning Voice