New Delhi, July 18 -- EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - In 2007, a UNICEF photographer arranged a scene at Barcelona's Camp Nou in which Lionel Messi, then 20 years old, was photographed alongside a five-month-old infant named Lamine Yamal. The photographer later called it "a true miracle of destiny." On Sunday at MetLife Stadium, with 80,000 people watching and 50,000 more expected in Central Park, the meaning of that photograph arrives at its conclusion.

Yamal, 19, lines up for Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final. Messi, 39, wears Argentina's blue and white for what may be the last match of his international career. The result of that encounter carries implications that no number can fully contain. Argentina's bid to become the third nation i...