When 19-year-old Spaniard Lamine Yamal embraced a tearful Lionel Messi after the final whistle of the World Cup final, the football world witnessed a historic moment. It was not merely a consoling embrace; it was a symbol of world football’s scepter passing from one generation to the next.
As thousands of Argentine supporters at New York’s New Jersey stadium chanted the name of the 39-year-old Messi, one of football’s greatest heroes was perhaps bidding farewell to his final World Cup stage. At that very moment, Yamal — Barcelona’s current No. 10 — embraced the club’s most legendary No. 10. In September 2007, a six-month-old Yamal was photographed in the lap of a 20-year-old Messi as part of a charity-calendar raffle; that viral image’s circle seemed to close on this day. That infant is today a world champion.
Two years after beating England to win Spain the European Championship, Yamal lifted the World Cup trophy, bringing a kind of completeness to international football. Returning from a hamstring injury to feature in the tournament, he became, at just 19 years and six days old, the first player to win both the World Cup and the European Championship.
Yamal’s presence in the final was the foundation of Spain’s flawless, elegant strategy. Argentina’s aggressive, physical approach, by contrast, failed completely. Yamal has not lost any of the 28 competitive matches he has played for Spain. He also set a record of 13 consecutive wins from the starting eleven at major tournaments, unmatched by any other player in European football. After Pelé (1958), Giuseppe Bergomi (1982) and Kylian Mbappé (2018), Yamal — with teammate Pau Cubarsí — became only the fifth young player in history to start a World Cup final and win the title.
Yamal stayed calm on the pitch, shrugging off intense physical and mental pressure from opponents including Argentine defender Nicolás Tagliafico. Watching that maturity, former England goalkeeper and BBC Sport pundit Joe Hart said: “Lamine Yamal didn’t just react — he stood up and fought, chest out. The whole team tried to crush him, but he stayed calm. At 19, he has completed football.”
Ferran Torres’s winning goal in the 106th minute of extra time wrote this new golden chapter for Spain. After the match, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente thanked Yamal: “He played wonderful football, which will help him mature further. He gave everything for the team.”
Under the shadow of an experienced captain like Rodri and carried by his own remarkable talent, Yamal conquered the world at just 19. Only time will tell how much more success awaits a young man standing at the very start of his career.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report