The iconic image is back, and the fans are overexcited. In 2024, a photo of Argentina footballer Lionel Messi giving a five-month-old Lamine Yamal, one of the game’s most promising youngsters today from Spain, a gentle bath went viral, just days ahead of the Copa America and Euro finals on July 14.

Also read: Falklands banner at World Cup: British govt urges FIFA to investigate Argentina

Both Messi’s Argentina and Yamal’s Spain went on to clinch the respective continental crowns, defeating Colombia and England, respectively.

Spain vs Argentina in World Cup final

Fast forward to July 15, 2026, and the picture is trending again. The occasion this time is even bigger: Argentina taking on Spain in the final of the FIFA World Cup at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, USA, on July 19. The two players have never played against each other before. In fact, Spain and Argentina have played only once in the football World Cup, and it was way back in 1966 in England, which the Albiceleste won 2-1.

The photo of Messi, who was 20 then, and Yamal, an infant, was taken in 2007 during a charity photo shoot in Barcelona. The Argentinian was yet to become the legend which he is today while the newly born Yamal’s future was still shrouded in the stars. Joan Monfort, a freelance photographer, clicked the image that best previewed the 2026 final.

According to Monfort, Messi was not too comfortable holding baby Yamal for the picture, which has now become iconic. “He was coming out of the locker room and suddenly he finds himself in another locker room with a plastic tub full of water and baby in it. It was complicated. He didn’t know how to hold him first.”

Also read: Why did Argentina hold Falklands banner? Messi and Co could face FIFA action

Monfort, in fact, had little idea that it was Yamal in the 2007 photo till he was told so by a friend after his click started trending online, thanks to the Spaniard’s footballing exploits.

In 2024, Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, posted the photo on Instagram with the text “the beginning of two legends” as the Euro and Copa America finals approached. Yamal, who made his international debut in 2023 at 16 and was awarded the best young player tag in the 2024 Euro, received training at the renowned La Masia Youth Academy in Barcelona, Spain, like Messi. He has also inherited Barcelona FC’s No. 10 jersey, something which was once sported by Messi.

‘Blessed by the GOAT’

In the 2024 Euro final, Spain fans were seen displaying the photo with the caption “Blessed by the GOAT”. Is Yamal too blessed to deny Messi his second successive World Cup crown? Three days to know.

In terms of goals in the tournament, however, Messi is far ahead of Yamal. The 39-year-old has scored eight so far, tied with France’s Kylian Mbappe, while Yamal has only one in his maiden World Cup.

Also read: FIFA WC: How Scalonismo turned Argentina into the masters of comebacks

Other images from the shoot also surfaced, showing Messi holding baby Yamal in a towel at the charity session while the latter’s mother, Sheila Ebana, helped.

When Yamal was shown the bathing photo after his team beat France to reach the final, he smiled and said that he hoped to see Messi in a final, said a Spanish live sports-streaming service. The wish was fulfilled.

It’s now down to the final wish that every footballer in this competition harboured: winning the game’s ultimate trophy.