July 18, 2026, 6:06 PM EDTAfter Lionel Messi had orchestrated another late, dramatic Argentina win, beating England to advance to the World Cup final, his teammate Enzo Fernández lifted Messi onto his shoulders, as the team danced around them. In that moment, Messi did not look like someone on the precipice of retirement. He seemed to be having the time of his life.It’s easy to forget that Messi is 39 years old, and that this may be his last World Cup, given how he’s played this tournament. He’s carried Argentina now all the way to the final, where on Sunday it will face Spain. For Messi and this Argentina team, it’s a chance at immortality, to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cup titles.Standing in their way is Spain, a team that has its own all-world talent, the 19-year-old Lamine Yamal. He’s often compared to Messi, since they both started their careers with the same club team, Barcelona. Now on Sunday, Messi and Yamal will face each other on the pitch for the first time. It’s a matchup between the greatest soccer player of all time and his presumed successor. Old Messi vs. New Messi, for the right to hoist the World Cup.Messi had already been considered one of the all-time greats. But throughout this tournament, he’s made an argument with his play that he deserves to be mentioned first when discussing Pelé, Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi has tallied eight goals and four assists in seven games, all Argentina wins, giving him 21 goals and 12 assists for his World Cup career, both of which are more than any player in history.With Messi on its side, Argentina has played with the confidence that it can win any game — no matter the score or the situation. Lamine Yamal of Spain during the 2026 FIFA World Cup game against Belgium on July 10.Shaun Clark / ISI Photos via Getty ImagesIn the round of 32, Argentina scored the winner in the 111th minute in a 3-2 win over Cape Verde. In the round of 16, Messi assisted on one goal and scored another, as Argentina scored three unanswered goals after the 78th minute to beat Egypt 3-2. Then in the semifinals, Messi assisted on two goals after the 84th minute, as Argentina stormed back to beat England 2-1.“This group is difficult to explain, difficult to really express,” Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said via an interpreter. “It is a show of the collectiveness, the brotherhood that we are in, the fight to the very end that we’ve got.”At the same time, Argentina has also become a bit of a villain in the eyes of opposing fans for receiving what they perceive to be preferential treatment throughout this tournament. Fans point to Argentina’s physical play going unpunished and on some controversial calls that have gone Argentina’s way.Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates the team's second goal by Lautaro Martinez during the FIFA World Cup 2026 match against England on July 15, 2026.Shaun Botterill / Getty ImagesScaloni was asked about this perception that Argentina had been aided by outside forces: “This ‘help’ quote-unquote is something that’s going to be said forever,” he said. “It’s a very complicated thing to even engage in. We know that that’s not the case.”No one could dispute Spain’s path to the final. The Spaniards have conceded one goal the whole tournament. Its only blemish was a 0-0 tie in the group stage to Cape Verde and its breakout star goalkeeper Vozinha, the same group that nearly upset Argentina in the knockout round. In a tournament defined by stars — big names like Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Jude Bellingham — Spain has won with a combination of precise ball control, elite defense, and timely goals. It doesn’t have a player atop the Golden Boot leaderboard; Mikel Oyarzabal leads Spain with five. Mikel Merino came on as a substitute and scored the winning goal minutes later in both the round of 16 and the quarterfinals.“We keep improving from one match to the next,” Spain’s coach Luis de la Fuente said via an interpreter. “… This is not just by chance. This is effort, talent, sacrifice, trying to be a better version of ourselves.” Many expected Yamal to be Spain’s star this World Cup. But he entered the tournament nursing a hamstring injury and has only scored once in seven games. Still, Yamal’s skill and playmaking ability have been evident and have caught the attention of opposing defenses. He also drew the foul in the box that led to Oyarzabal’s penalty kick, which gave Spain a 1-0 lead in an eventual 2-0 win over France in the semifinals.Every time Yamal touches the ball, one holds their breath, the same way they do when watching Messi. Yamal’s talent is undeniable. He scored 16 goals in 28 games for Barcelona this past season. It wouldn’t be surprising if he scores a goal or two in the final, which is being played less than a week after Yamal’s 19th birthday.