From Yamal to Velikiye: the main intrigues of the 2026 World Cup finals

For the first time since the FIFA ranking appeared, two of its strongest teams will meet in the World Cup finals. Argentina is the current world champion and winner of the America's Cup, Spain is the European champion. In March, these teams were supposed to play in the Finalissima in Qatar, but the match of the winners of the continental championships was canceled. Now they will meet, but in a duel for a much more prestigious trophy — the World Cup. Izvestia highlights the main intrigues of the decisive match of the tournament.

Meeting with the heir

Immediately after Argentina reached the finals, the same photo from 2007 flew around the social network, in which 20-year—old Lionel Messi bathes a baby named Lamin Yamal in a basin - he was not even six months old at the time. This is a real picture from the charity calendar of 2008.

Of course, back then, no one could have imagined that these two people would play against each other in the World Cup finals in 19 years. Moreover, the teams of Yamal and Messi have not crossed paths so far, so this will be their first meeting (on the field, not at a basin of water).

The main intrigue of this duel is not photography at all. For Lionel, this match is highly likely to be the last at the World Cups, and the Argentine is a symbol of all football in the first quarter of the century. Lamine, on the other hand, is the face of a new era and the man Barcelona has long considered Messi's heir. To put it quite pathetically, then a duel of two eras awaits us.

—Spain is a great national team with great players,— Mundo Deportivo quoted Messi as saying. — I know this team very well. I keep an eye on these players, I know their capabilities. Several people represent Barcelona at once, a club that I love very much and which I continue to follow. It's going to be a special match for me.

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Possible super record

Yamal turned 19 on July 13. He will no longer become the youngest world champion in history — this title is held by Pele, who was 17 in 1958. And even the youngest European with a gold medal in the world championship is no longer a Spaniard — Italian Giuseppe Bergomi won it in 1982 at the age of 18.

But Yamal will aim for a higher status title — the youngest football player to win both the world and European championships. Two years ago, the winger of the Spanish national team won the continental tournament a day after his 17th birthday, and on Sunday he can take another big trophy. No one has ever managed to win the World and European Championships at the age of 19.

—Lamin Yamal is a prime example of what a world—class footballer is," former France defender Gael Clichy told the BBC. — Even if he doesn't touch the ball that often, his influence on the game is felt all the time. If you look at the first half hour of the Spain–France semi-final, Luc Digne was so focused on not being one-on-one with Yamal, that in itself says a lot. I am sure that Lamin can give a bright ending.

Luis vs Lionel

In general, the Spanish national team has 16 players who won the Euro two years ago. But the most important thing is the coaching staff. Luis de la Fuente led the national team after the 2022 World Cup and has already achieved significant success with it — he won the continental championship, and now he is going for the world crown.

If he wins, de la Fuente will become only the third coach to win the World and European Championships. The first was Helmut Schoen with the German national team (Euro 1972, 1974 World Cup), the second was Vicente del Bosque with the same Spaniards (2010 World Cup, Euro 2012).

Argentina national team head coach Lionel Scaloni can also make history. He has already won the America's Cup twice, won the Finalissima and, most importantly, became the world champion. The only coach who twice led the national team to victory in the world championship remains the great Italian innovator Vittorio Pozzo, who made his native team champions in 1934 and 1938. In other words, for almost a century, no one has been able to achieve what Scaloni can achieve.

Swing at Pele

The Argentine national team has hardly changed in four years. 17 of the 26 players in her application have already become world champions. Accordingly, all of them can double on Sunday and significantly expand the list of those who managed to win gold at the world championships twice, now there are 20 people in it. They are mostly Brazilians and Italians, but there is one Argentinian, Daniel Passarella, who was in the national team in 1978 and 1986.

Pele remains the only three-time world champion. However, if Argentina wins, then someone will be able to repeat his record in the coming years.

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A special match for Rodri

Only ten people have won the Golden Ball, the World Cup and the Champions League./European Champions Cup: Bobby Charlton, Gerd Muller, Franz Beckenbauer, Paolo Rossi, Zinedine Zidane, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele.

As you can see, there are no Spaniards on this list, so Rhodri can be the first. The 30-year-old midfielder has already won the Champions League with Manchester City in 2023, as well as a high-profile triumph in the fight with Vinicius for the Golden Ball in 2024. Success at the World Cup will perpetuate the name of the Spanish midfielder.

World record

The victory in the semifinals over France meant that the Spanish national team extended the unbeaten streak to 37 matches. The last time Luis de la Fuente's team lost was on March 22, 2024 in a friendly match with Colombia (0:1). Last year's final of the League of Nations, in which Spain lost to Portugal in a penalty shootout, is not considered a defeat here, as the main time ended in a draw.

37 matches is a repeat of the record of the Italian national team, which did not lose the same amount from 2018 to 2021. If Spain wins the World Cup final or the game goes to a penalty shootout, the Red Fury will update the world record.

List of applicants

This year is a fantastic sniper race, which involves many stars of world football. Before the final and the match for the third place, the leaders of the goalscoring list look like this. Messi has eight goals, four assists. Mbappe — eight goals, three assists, Holland — seven goals, Bellingham — six goals, one assist, Kane — six goals, one assist, Dembele — five goals, two assists, Oyarzabal — five goals, one assist.

If the number of goals is equal, the Golden Boot will go to the one with the most assists, which is why Messi is currently in first place. But the density is high. Even Dembele and Oyarzabal have a theoretical chance of winning the goalscoring race, but they need to at least score a hat-trick in their matches.

Most likely, everything will be resolved in the correspondence dispute between Mbappe and Messi. If Kylian doesn't play or score in the match for third place, then it's unlikely that anyone will catch up with Leo.

We must not forget about the race of the best scorers in the history of the World Cup. Messi has 21 goals now, Mbappe has 20. The Argentine clearly does not want to let the Frenchman near him.

Messi or

An equally important question is who will win the Golden Ball. Moreover, we are talking here about both prizes — what is awarded to the best player of the World Cup, and the annual award from France Football.

It's amazing, but Messi, at 39, really claims both Golden Balls. After the semifinals, the Argentine became the favorite in many versions. If Argentina becomes the world champion, it will be difficult to recognize him as the best player of the tournament. If Spain, then there are possible options, and much will depend on the final itself.