Argentine Lionel Messi will become the oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup final on Sunday, while Spain's Lamine Yamal seeks to join the elite winners of the title in his teens. The match at MetLife Stadium will be the first meeting between Messi, the Argentina captain, and his successor as the new golden boy of Barcelona's academy. The only player to have appeared in a World Cup final older than Messi is Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff, who was 40 in 1982. In complete contrast, Yamal only turned 19 on Monday, a day before Spain's 2-0 win over France in the semifinals. Everything has happened incredibly fast for Yamal, who made his debut for Barcelona at 15. His first international appearance for Spain came at 16, and shortly after his 17th birthday, he helped La Roja beat England in the Euro 2024 final, where he was named best young player.

Yamal finished runner-up to France's Ousmane Dembélé in the Ballon d'Or race last year, and now has a chance to join the select group of players who have won the World Cup as teenagers. Messi said on Friday: 'He is a world icon at 19, and he has the chance to achieve something historic, but we will do everything we can to stop him.' Yamal had suffered an injury before the World Cup started, and doubts even surrounded his participation, after he missed the end of the season with Barcelona. He admitted: 'I was afraid the injury was serious, and above all I was afraid that even if it wasn't, I might suffer a relapse and ultimately miss the World Cup.' Yamal only came on as a substitute in Spain's opening match, a goalless draw with Cape Verde, and was substituted at half-time after scoring in the big 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the second round. Since then he has started every match, though without the devastating impact he had hoped to deliver. Spain have missed the direct play that made them so dangerous in Euro 2024 as a result, but Yamal will be in the lineup against the defending champions. At 19 years and six days, he will become the third-youngest player to appear in a World Cup final, and his teammate Pau Cubarsí, six months his senior, is not far behind. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente described Yamal during this edition of the World Cup as a 'genius' on par with (the world-renowned Spanish painter) Salvador Dalí or (the Italian painter, poet and sculptor) Michelangelo. He said: 'They are different. What seems exceptional to us does not seem so to them.' The only two players to have appeared in a World Cup final at a younger age are Pelé, who was 17 years and 249 days when he scored two goals in Brazil's 1958 win over Sweden, and Giuseppe Bergomi, who was 18 when he played in Italy's 1982 win over West Germany. So far, only eight players have won the World Cup as teenagers, while Pelé and France's Kylian Mbappé are the only ones to have scored in the final before turning 20. Mbappé was 19 when France won the title in 2018, but his hopes of winning it again this year were dashed by Yamal and Spain in the semifinals. Now Yamal hopes to shatter Messi's dream of winning the world champion title for the second time, and thereby cement his place as the next true global star in football.

Notably, they face each other on Sunday, about two decades after a photo was taken of a 20-year-old Messi participating in bathing five-month-old Yamal in a blue plastic tub, as part of a UNICEF photo shoot. Messi said: 'That photo is amazing.' Former French star Thierry Henry, who won the World Cup at 20, said on Fox: 'Lamine Yamal vs Leo Messi: that is the future vs the past, the present, the future, and eternity.'