The Athletic is broadcasting live Argentina vs Spain in 2026 FIFA World Cup Final.
The World Cup final on Sunday promises to be an incredible match as the past and present generations go head to head.
I have a feeling that Lionel Messi is passing the baton to Lamina Yamal, who I believe can become the new king of world football in the next 15-20 years.
We can talk about tactics and physical preparation, but in the end it’s all about talent. Even on a day like this, it’s all about ability and they are two of the most talented players in the world right now.
Ahead of Spain’s match against Argentina, here’s my guide to what to look for when watching Messi and Yamal.
The World Cup final takes place in La Masia. pic.twitter.com/FrlKixkFwv
– FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona), July 18, 2026
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How Messi finds space
Messi is always looking carefully, trying to find that corner of space where he has the second needed to change the situation. If you watch him on TV or in the stadium, you’ll see him coming, but he’s not going. He thinks, calculates. He constantly looks around, looking at where the ball might fall if a teammate wants to pass into space.
His Argentina teammates bury themselves in the ground for him. They know he can make a difference. They don’t mind, that’s normal.
When I played with him at Barcelona he had a little more energy. He ran around the field, harassed, hurried, picked up the ball in deeper areas and played with us. Now he is a little less active physically – this is understandable, he is 39 years old. But mentally he is as relentless as ever, and his speed of thought is incomparable to any other footballer in the world.
He stores much more information in his head than anyone else. It’s constant. “Am I marked? Can I get free? Where is Julian Alvarez? Where is Giuliano Simeone? Where is Leandro Paredes? If the ball drops here, what can I do to be one step ahead?”
He always looks before he gets the ball – always, always, always.
And then when he actually has the ball in time and space… he becomes the best player in the history of the game.
He was the playmaker in the final 25 minutes against England, doing all the damage. Even without two assists, he was lining up crosses, initiating passes and runs, drifting here, drifting back into space, stopping there, asking for the ball, feinting left and right.
This is Messi, who is constantly looking for how to become dangerous. He succeeds everywhere, even though he is almost Argentina’s last attacking player. It’s great to watch him play. We’re so lucky.
Lionel Messi is always in space and always thinking one step ahead (Thomas Koex/AFP via Getty Images)
How Yamal’s positioning helps his team
Lamin’s positioning is a little more strategic. He hangs out on the wing or moves a little centrally, but both work because he plays a crucial role on the ball.
When he is one on one, he is almost unstoppable. An opponent’s biggest concern when playing against Lamin is to prevent him from getting into a one-on-one situation. If you’re a defender, you need support against him, and Lamin knows that.
This would be Lionel Scaloni’s obsession. He won’t want to let him breathe. He is a threat, the biggest worry for the opposition. Argentina will pursue him, constantly putting pressure on him. But Lamin is smart. He will think: “One minute, if I have three players marking me, then there will be space on the opposite flank, or there will be a free man somewhere.”
When he brings in defenders like that, it opens up space for players like Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, Dani Olmo. Yamal is always ready to make a decision to surrender.
Lamin constantly asks for the ball. When Spain have it, like Marc Cucurella on the opposite side, he stands with his arm raised the entire time. He wants it quickly. He thinks: “Now, now I will have a one-on-one battle if you play it for me quickly.” And Yamal in such a situation can kill the game himself.
But he knows he can help the team even if he has three defenders next to him. He could still beat them, but just getting defenders to join him is good for his teammates.
Lamin Yamal will attract defenders, knowing it will free up a teammate (David Ramos/Getty Images)
Messi’s favorite area
I like this visualization because it shows us where both players perform best. This is Messi’s natural habitat: the inside channel on the right. He started his career playing more widely but gradually moved here.
Every time Leo gets the ball in this zone, something happens. Why? Because he has talent, pure talent.
Messi and Lamine almost never lose the ball in these areas. Sometimes this happens because they are in the most difficult zone – there are 200 defenders. But if Lamin gets the ball, something will happen. Messi too. They make a difference.
If I were a team rival and Messi had him here, I would be scared. Against England he was wearing number 9, but in the last 20 minutes he started moving into those zones more and it was pum, pum, pum, pum and into the zone four, five or six times. Messi is in another galaxy.
Lamin may also be in another galaxy. Sometimes it is. But he is only 19. In football terms, he will be closest to Messi.
How do both players dribble the ball?
Messi and Diego Maradona are the only players in history to wait for the defender to make a move before dribbling. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Lamin is a little different. There’s movement in his head and he accepts You on. He will make his move before the defender. Sometimes a defender can guess right and steal the ball. But Messi is on another level and I don’t think people understand that.
Imagine Messi running towards you. He won’t do anything; he will wait for you to agree. The second you put your right foot out, he will dodge, and he is so fast that he will disappear in an instant. I trained with him for 15 years, and there is no player in the world who dribbles the ball like that, coming at you only after you have made your move.
This is a great example – look at how he waits for Elliot Anderson to stick his left foot out. The speed is simply brutal, plus a little shaking. He says, “Okay, what are you going to do, Anderson?” If he had stuck out his right foot instead, Messi would have pretended to go left and then dived down the outside.
This is something that people still don’t quite understand. No other football player in the world can do this. I only saw Maradona. I didn’t watch Pele – my father told me about him, but I didn’t see him myself. But only Maradona, and now Messi, were capable of this with their own eyes.
Vinicius Junior is a brilliant dribbler. Kylian Mbappe is a great dribbler. But they think ahead and say, “Let’s see what move I’m going to make. I’m going to go this way, I’m going to get around the defender quickly, I’m going to use this skill, I’m going to use my forward momentum and strength.” Messi is waiting to see what You do and then react.
Lamin does this too sometimes, but he hasn’t reached that level yet.
How does Messi use his body to dribble the ball?
He plays with every part of his body, this is his greatest skill. He is looking for what the defender is thinking about – you go that way, I’ll go the other. It’s Messi, dude. The question is not how to stop it; how can you guess what he’s going to do?
What if you just foul him? Well, then he simply curls the free kick into the top corner. Maybe three or four players can stop him if they work together.
I don’t think there will ever be a player like him. He is the best in history because only he can do such things. Messi could play with his bad leg and he would still be the best player on the pitch.
Full lamin analysis
Lamine has an amazing ability to use the outside of his boot to make passes. He understands what the game needs and will only use it when necessary, but it also helps make him a lot more unpredictable because he can easily go left, right or straight through you with this pass.
Lamin is smart and this trivel pass is almost unstoppable if he gets it right, as he often does. It’s just talent and years of practice. It’s not normal that strikers have the talent to pass the ball like that – it’s not normal. But he has it.
He has a special approach to the penalty area. Here’s another great clip.
The first touch is great, instantly setting you up to start tormenting the defender.
Lamin is really good at doing things without giving away his intentions. His body gives you no clues. He doesn’t need a lot of space to move his legs or a lot of time. He will find the pass and make it smooth. This makes him very difficult to read because it is all part of the rhythm and he can release the ball or break inside at any time when the ball is at his feet.
Football is all about deception (deception) – look one way and go around the other, pretend to go left and quickly move to the right, manipulating the enemy and tricking him into opening up these small spaces. Lamin is a pure deceiver, a magician. It’s hard to predict what he’s going to do next because he hides everything with his body.
The weight of the pass here is perfect; that’s practically the goal. But look at the shape of his body at the moment of release. He could easily hit his right foot, shoot inside or pass. As a full-speed defender, you often have to guess until the last moment.
What they look like on game day
Messi is very calm, quiet, a little withdrawn, thinking about what he has to do.
Lamin has a little more fluidity. He will listen to his music, joke, try to cheer up his teammates and maintain morale. But he’s also incredibly relaxed. He fell asleep on the bus on the way to the European Championship final. That’s exactly what he is. He knows he has talent and knows what he needs to do, so he doesn’t worry and accepts the challenge on the field.
If you have this level of talent, you don’t have to worry because you know you have what it takes to solve this problem. I think it will be about the same before today’s finale.
Leaders on the field
Messi takes on so much responsibility, he is Argentina’s talisman, and Yamal doesn’t shy away from anything either.
If Yamal wants to reach Messi’s level, and he still has so much time to do this, he just needs more of everything – more dribbles, passes, goals.
If anyone can get there, it’s Lamin. He’s the closest thing to Messi we’ll get. I can’t wait for them both to go head to head on the biggest stage. It’s a special ending and perhaps a day we’ll look back on for years to come.