In partnership with
Fans of France and England will disagree, but let’s face it, Spain vs Argentina is an enticing World Cup final.
A team on a 37-game unbeaten streak against an opponent who will not accept defeat. One of them must win on Sunday, though.
There’s also the inevitable narrative of Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal’s involvement. They have never played together, but they feel intrinsically linked. Both are iconic left-footed Barcelona attackers at different ends of their careers. Yamal has often been seen as the heir apparent to Messi, which is a lot of pressure to put on a player who only recently turned 19. It’s almost as much pressure as writing five World Cup newsletters a week.
In today’s SVQ, we look ahead to Sunday’s World Cup final, and in particular, the mouth-watering battle between Messi and Yamal.
We also have an Ask Opta question on substitutions, and as it’s Friday, it’s the return of the five-question quiz. The topic is the World Cup, just in case that wasn’t clear.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our (almost) daily newsletters during the tournament. We’ll be sending out a World Cup round-up edition on Monday, then after that we shall be returning to our weekly sends every Tuesday, starting on 28 July.
Sound familiar?
Over 4 million people have had the same lightbulb moment.
Morning Brew is a free daily newsletter that breaks down what's happening in business, finance, and tech — clearly, quickly, and with enough personality to make it the best email in your inbox.
No yelling. No filler. Just the news, finally making sense.
👑 STAT - Can the Prince Become the King?
Only two players have completed more than 16 dribbles at the 2026 World Cup:
One is Lionel Messi (25). The other? It is, of course, Lamine Yamal (22) – 20 years Messi’s junior.
There is plenty more to Sunday’s World Cup final than just Messi vs Yamal, but it is undeniably an intriguing match-up.
In what is either an incredible coincidence or something more if you believe in fate, Yamal’s family won a competition in 2007 to have a photoshoot with a Barcelona player at Camp Nou. The shoot was supposed to include a newborn baby, so they brought their five-month-old, Lamine. By chance, the player they were paired with was Messi. The photos included Messi helping Yamal’s mother to bathe him.
Now, most of us have embarrassing baby photos our parents insist on keeping of us in the bath, but not many have ones that include arguably the greatest footballer of all time. In fact, it’s probably a fairly small percentage of the population when you think about it.
Now, 19 years on, the Spain international is hoping to bathe in the glory of lifting the World Cup, at the expense of his former photo buddy.