Argentina defeated England 2-1 in the World Cup 2026 semi-finals, setting up a super-exciting final against Spain. The defending champions were in trouble, down 1-0 thanks to FC Barcelona’s newest signing, Anthony Gordon. But Argentina found a wonder goal through Enzo Fernández to draw level and then Lautaro Martínez nodded in the winner – both assisted by Lionel Messi.
Argentina do not have any Barça players, and in fact have six who play for La Liga rivals Atlético Madrid, but it’s fair to say a lot
of Culés worldwide want nothing more than to see Messi lift another trophy.
For their part, Spain have eight Barcelona players, at least a few of whom will start. It’s also fair to say that a large portion of Barça fans will be hoping that Spain win the World Cup.
Either way, this is almost a win-win. Barcelona fans may have allegiances to other nations or prefer Argentina or Spain, but they are unlikely to be too sad to see one team or the other win.
Messi will be playing against what many people consider his successor, Lamine Yamal. Messi has dominated this tournament, tied with Kylian Mbappé for most goals with 8, and one behind Michael Olise for most assists. He also leads all players in big chances created, chances created, and dribbles.
Yamal, for his part, has been a piece of Spain’s attack but not necessarily always the centerpiece. He came into the tournament still recovering from an injury suffered with his club. He’s got just one goal so far but has been getting better with each game. He won Spain’s penalty to open the scoring against France in the semi-final as well.
The two share a unique bond. Messi, by some cosmic coincidence, once bathed a baby Yamal. Messi was then a budding star for Barcelona, and took a picture with a then-unknown Yamal for a UNICEF charity calendar. This will be the first meeting between two of the world’s biggest stars – first meeting on the pitch, that is.
There will be passion, blood, sweat, guts, glory, but at the end of the day, one imagines they will swap shirts. And whatever the final score, it will be a day that goes down in Barcelona history.
