Yamal Set To Face Messi As Spain And Argentina Clash In Finalissima

‎Spain and Argentina will face off in the Finalissima on March 27, marking the first-ever matchup between Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi.

‎The game, pitting the European champions against the South American champions, will be held at Lusail Stadium in Qatar, the venue where Argentina lifted the 2022 World Cup.

‎It is the fourth time the Finalissima has been staged but just the second time the trophy has been competed for this century.

‎World champions Argentina hold the title after a 3-0 win over Italy at Wembley in 2022. France claimed the inaugural edition of the tournament, then called the Artemio Franchi Cup, by beating Uruguay in 1985, while Argentina later lifted the trophy in 1993 with a penalty shootout victory over Denmark.

‎In the Spain vs Argentina clash, Barcelona’s rising star Lamine Yamal will face Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi for the first time in his career.

‎Yamal has frequently drawn comparisons to the 38-year-old, sharing similar paths at Barça, as well as both operating from the right wing, being left-footed, and wearing the No. 10 shirt.

‎The Spain international has tried to downplay the parallels, insisting he isn’t aiming to be the next Messi and is focused on developing his own game.

‎”I respect him, in the end, for what he’s been, for what he is to football, and if we ever meet on a pitch, there will be that mutual respect because we are players and because, for me, he’s the best in history,” Yamal said last month.

‎”He also knows I am a player and I respect him, so it’s mutual respect. We both know I don’t want to be Messi and Messi knows I don’t want to be him. I want to follow my path and that’s it.”

‎However, this won’t be the first time the two have crossed paths. Messi famously posed with a baby Yamal in 2007 for a charity calendar, with the images resurfacing and going viral during Euro 2024 as Spain claimed the European title.

‎There are also photos of a young Yamal with Messi at Barça’s training ground from when Yamal was part of the academy and Messi was still a first-team player.

‎The Spain-Argentina fixture comes just months ahead of next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with both nations among the tournament favorites when it begins.