Messi bathed Yamal as a baby and now they’re set to face off in World Cup Final

Argentina captain Lionel Messi is set to face Spain’s Lamine Yamal in the World Cup final, 19 years after being photographed with him as a baby.

Argentina, fresh off a 2-1 win against England in the semi-final of the World Cup, are set to face at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The Spaniards recently beat France 2-0.

Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal, forwards for Argentina and Spain respectively, are both tipped to have a big say on the final outcome. As it turns out, the pair met back in 2007 when Yamal was just a baby, as seen in a viral photograph.

Tom Brady called the photograph “prophetic”

The viral photograph was taken in 2007 when Yamal’s parents won a charity photoshoot in which the then-20-year-old Messi held their five-month-old baby.

Yamal has since grown up to be a Barcelona player himself, inheriting Messi’s number 10 shirt after the Argentinian left the club. NFL legend Tom Brady spoke to Messi about the “prophetic” photograph. Messi agreed: “That photo is incredible. The fact that we’re both playing in the World Cup now is crazy.”

Messi spoke about Yamal’s ability. “He’s one of the best in the world right now. I wish him luck because his success will be Barcelona’s success,” he said. “We’ll try to keep him from playing at his best. Spain has a great team, not just him.

“He’s a tremendous player. A global star. He’s 19 years old and has his whole career ahead of him. I wish him the best, but we’ll give it our all to ensure he doesn’t become champion this time.”

For more on the World Cup, check out our coverage of the new species of sea snail named after the Cape Verde goalkeeper, or the Mexico players who had to return $1m of Rolex watches to SteveWillDoIt.