'Lamine is truly amazing': Messi praises Yamal but vows Argentina will stop Spain star

Argentina captain Lionel Messi has praised Spain teenager Lamine Yamal ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 final, describing the 18-year-old as an "amazing" player while insisting Argentina will do everything possible to deny him a historic achievement.

Speaking in a post shared on social media, Messi said he has closely followed Yamal's development because of the youngster's performances for Barcelona, the club where the Argentine spent most of his career.

"Lamine is truly amazing, and I've followed him a lot because he plays for a club I love so much. He has a chance to achieve something historic, and we're going to try to make sure that doesn't happen this time," Messi said.

Argentina booked their place in the final with a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over England in the semi-final. After falling behind in the first half, Enzo Fernandez restored parity before Lautaro Martinez scored a stoppage-time winner to send the defending champions into the title clash.

The defeat ended England's hopes of reaching their first World Cup final since 1966.

Spain, meanwhile, reached their first World Cup final since winning the title in 2010 with a 2-0 victory over France. Yamal played a decisive role by winning the penalty that Mikel Oyarzabal converted to open the scoring after the teenager dispossessed Lucas Digne.

Pedro Porro doubled Spain's lead after the interval following a well-worked move with Dani Olmo. France struggled to create clear-cut opportunities, while Yamal also had a goal ruled out for offside. Late attempts from Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni failed to break Spain's defence, which kept its sixth clean sheet in seven matches of the tournament.

The victory secured Spain's second appearance in a FIFA World Cup final, setting up a highly anticipated showdown against Argentina.