Pedri needed few words to express his feelings after Spain qualified for the 2026 World Cup final; he merely revived an old message he had sent to "La Roja" fans after losing the Nations League final to Portugal more than a year ago.

At that time, the Barcelona star posted pictures from the match, including a shot of Spain players in a circle on the pitch, and wrote only one number: 190726, in a message that seemed encrypted and mysterious to many followers at first glance.

The number referred to July 19, 2026, the date of the World Cup final, in a promise to return to that day and compete for the world title.

More than a year later, the Spanish national team indeed reached the final match, after defeating France 2-0 in the semi-final.

Hours after the match, Pedri returned to his Instagram account and posted a set of pictures from the victory over France, including shots from the dressing room celebrations and a photo of him celebrating the qualification, but this time he wrote: 190726 🔓

Pedri added the unlocked lock emoji, in a gesture that seemed to mean that the date that had remained "locked" in the dream of Spain's players since losing the Nations League final was now unlocked after securing the final appearance.

Pedri and his teammates only have 90 minutes left to fulfill the promise he made more than a year ago, when he wrote just the final date, without any explanation, before that date today became a reality for the Spanish national team on the pitch.

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