Afghanistan, July 19 -- Argentina and Spain will contest the 2026 FIFA World Cup final on Sunday in a showdown between the defending world champions and the reigning European champions, while also setting up the first senior meeting between Lionel Messi and Spain's teenage sensation Lamine Yamal.
The final has attracted worldwide attention not only because of the battle for football's biggest prize, but also because of a remarkable connection between the two players that dates back nearly two decades.
In December 2007, during a charity calendar project organized by UNICEF and the FC Barcelona Foundation, a 20-year-old Messi posed for photographs while holding and bathing five-month-old Lamine Yamal after the infant's family was selected t...