Coincidences involving stars Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal continue to mount ahead of their anticipated World Cup final clash, in a story that began with a famous photo of Messi with Yamal as a baby during a charity photo shoot.

In this report, colleague Don Riddell, CNN correspondent, reviews these details, as the number 19 appears remarkably in the players' careers. Messi wore number 19 for Barcelona and Argentina when the photo was taken, while Yamal wears the same number for Spain in the current tournament. It also coincidentally happened that Yamal turned 19 one day before the semi-final, while Messi celebrated his 19th birthday during his first World Cup appearance in 2006. The strangeness increases with the final being held on July 19, amid talk of the symbolism of the number 19 as the end of a cycle and the beginning of another new one.