Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal set biggest age gap in World Cup final

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·20 July 2026

Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal set biggest age gap in World Cup final

Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal were named to start the World Cup final in New York, their 20 years and 19 days age gap the largest ever in a final.

According to L'Équipe, Yamal started for Spain under Luis De La Fuente and Messi for Argentina. It is the first time the pair have faced each other.

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Messi was born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, while Yamal was born on 13 June 2007 in Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona.

A few months after Yamal’s birth, Messi gave him a bath during a UNICEF photo campaign, an unusual link between the two now meeting on the biggest stage.

Across all stages of the tournament, this edition also produced the overall record, with 22 years and 183 days separating Cristiano Ronaldo and the Uzbek Bekhrouz Karimov in Portugal’s 5-0 group win.

Source: L'Équipe