It’s been a long time coming, but Spain and Argentina will finally see each other again. Lamine Yamal will get the chance to face his idol, Lionel Messi, and it will happen on no bigger stage than the 2026 World Cup final. Although Yamal raised alarms ahead of the World Cup final, it may take a lot more to keep him out of such a high-stakes showdown for Lamine.
La Roja and La Albiceleste haven’t faced each other too often, and this will be the first time the two Barcelona-bred phenoms meet on the pitch. Messi did once bathe a young Yamal in a photo that has since gone viral, but neither could have imagined how their paths would unfold before eventually meeting on a soccer field.
Spain and Argentina will meet for the first time in a long time, and it has been even longer since their last—and only—World Cup meeting. While Messi was much younger the last time Argentina and Spain played, Yamal’s age at the time highlights just how special this upcoming matchup truly is.
Yamal’s age last time Spain faced Argentina
The last time Spain took on Argentina was on March 27, 2018. At the time, Yamal was just 10 years old. Needless to say, he wasn’t part of Spain’s squad, nor had he made his professional debut. That would come in April 2023, when Yamal made his first-team debut for Barcelona at the age of 15, becoming the youngest player in club history to appear in a league match.
Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain.
The wonderkid made his debut for Spain’s senior national team on Sept. 8, 2023. Yamal became both the youngest player to ever wear La Roja’s colors and the youngest to score for the national team, finding the back of the net in his debut—a 7-1 victory over Georgia.
Yamal has never played Argentina
In the 2026 World Cup final, Yamal will face La Albiceleste for the first time in his international career. Naturally, he was only a child the last time Spain took on Argentina, but he hasn’t faced the South American powerhouse even at the youth level.
Then again, Yamal didn’t spend much time at the youth level, considering he was always playing with kids well above his age and debuted at the senior level at 16.
Although he’s already gone up against many of Argentina’s players at the club level, he’s never faced them while representing their country. Truth be told, the Argentines are a different beast when they don the sky-blue-and-white jersey.
