Artist and creator of space, that is Dani Olmo with his skills and precise passes at the right time, making him like Pablo Picasso for the Spanish national team in the 2026 World Cup, which concludes on Sunday against defending champion Argentina.

Against Argentina on Sunday in East Rutherford, on the outskirts of New York, 'La Roja' will seek to win their second star after the first they won in 2010. In Johannesburg, after a tough extra time against the Netherlands, the short-statured midfielder Andres Iniesta was a hero for an entire nation when he scored the winning goal.

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At that time, Olmo was 12 years old and in the process of developing as a footballer at the 'La Masia' academy, which produced a large number of stars, foremost among them his future opponent Lionel Messi. Olmo clearly remembers what he felt while watching what the Spanish team achieved 16 years ago in South Africa, saying in an interview with FIFA's website in November 2025, unaware then that he would have the chance to follow in the footsteps of Iniesta and his teammates: 'Such moments remain etched in memory for a lifetime. I remember everything, from the first match to Iniesta's goal in the final... And today I have the chance to be on the field. It's a dream come true.'

However, Spain's presence in the final is not surprising, because this team has been dominant for three years, having won the European Championship in 2024 after claiming the UEFA Nations League a year earlier, a title they only lost on penalties to Portugal last year. - Solution maker - And if the Spanish team relies on an extremely cohesive group, with Lamine Yamal having the talent to make a difference individually and Rodri as a leader who regained the status that earned him the Ballon d'Or in 2024, they also have in Olmo a top-class solution maker and 'master of playing between the lines,' as his coach Luis de la Fuente describes him.

In the semi-final against France (2-0), his technical touches were dazzling, including his decisive one-touch pass to Pedro Porro who scored the second goal. In the first half, his backheel pass between two defenders and in perfect timing to Yamal nearly led to one of the tournament's most beautiful goals, had Dayot Upamecano not intervened to save 'Les Bleus' in front of Fabian Ruiz.

Olmo, 28, is at the peak of his artistic output, even though his career has been greatly affected by physical problems that earned him a reputation as a fragile player, which has deprived him of much greater stardom. He said before the quarter-final against Belgium: 'My life and career have always been like this; I constantly have to prove my worth, but that's not a problem for me; it's a demand I place on myself.'

Unlike his teammates, he had to leave Spain as a teenager to build his football future, after realizing in 2014 that his chances of establishing himself at Barcelona were slim. Instead of joining one of the continent's top clubs, he and his family chose to move to Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, a club known for developing talent, from which Luka Modric emerged.

- 'A different culture' - He said earlier: 'In Croatia there was a different culture. In Spain we worked more with the ball. I was 16 years old and training with players who had been to World Cups. It was a big step for me. It helped me develop physically and mentally because the game was faster.'

After catching the eye in Zagreb, Olmo spent four years in the German Bundesliga with Leipzig. During that period, Barcelona constantly monitored him, even attempting to bring him back since 2021, but their financial problems prevented that. However, the return home finally happened in 2024 after the European Championship where he shone.

The relationship with De la Fuente was not new, as the latter also oversaw the Spanish team that won the European Under-19 Championship in 2019. And Olmo, like Iniesta, has become that talented and difficult engine that often evades marking, even when surrounded by many opponents on the field.