Lamine Yamal may use the World Cup final to demonstrate why he is indeed Lionel Messi's heir, from baby baths to the biggest game of all.

Lionel Messi has always been an inspiration to Lamine Yamal. His one and only idol was and still is the Barcelona legend.  "I never had another," Yamal admitted to Tuttosport. "I once took a photo with him. I was unknown." He wasn't just unknown, though; he was still only a baby, just a few weeks old when he and his mother partook in a 2007 photoshoot organised by SPORT for a charity calendar.

But the picture of a 20-year-old Messi giving a baby Yamal a bath has already become famous. The symbolism is almost too good: it's as though Messi is anointing the heir to his throne as the best player in the game or baptising Barcelona's next messiah.

The "prophecy" may also come true on Sunday, as Messi and Yamal are scheduled to face off once more, this time in the World Cup final. Yamal is ideally positioned to mark the conclusion of one magnificent period and the start of a new one, making it the ideal location for a potential change of leadership.

'I'm very demanding of myself' 

Even though Yamal has become accustomed to carrying this weight ever since he broke into the Barcelona starting lineup at the age of sixteen, it must be acknowledged that it feels unfair to put such a heavy duty on him.

What distinguishes Messi from any other player in history is his consistent excellence over more than 20 years. That legendary degree of longevity is a high bar for Yamal to meet.

Still, while the teenager says that "reaching Messi's level is impossible", he hopes to "maybe one day be like him" - and that kind of stated ambition is actually unsurprising coming from him.

Yamal has consistently maintained that he is no longer under pressure. He claims that years ago, he left it behind in Mataro. And there's no reason to question him. How else could a sixteen-year-old participate in a European Championship with such courage?

Yamal may be burdened by his own expectations even though he is not subject to outside pressure. Following the quarterfinal matchup with Belgium, he disclosed, "I'm very demanding of myself. I'm never satisfied with what I'm doing."

And that most likely explains why, throughout Spain's 2026 World Cup campaign, he has occasionally been guilty of attempting to do too much.

One goal, zero assists

Long before the competition started, everyone agreed that Yamal was crucial to his nation's chances of winning, which is why his injury-related absence from Barcelona's 2025–2026 season was so concerning.

After the unexpected opening draw with Cape Verde, when Yamal started on the bench, the sense that Spain lacked a cutting edge without the most gifted youth in the game only grew stronger. When Yamal was brought back into the starting lineup, La Roja appeared to be a totally different squad.

Despite just playing the first half of the matchday one encounter with Saudi Arabia, he led his team to a 4-0 victory that boosted confidence.

Surprisingly, though, he hasn't scored since. or even provided one helping hand. And a young man who is unduly harsh on himself has unavoidably been impacted by that.

Sage advice

"I think Lamine needs to calm down a bit, [because of] that anxiety that he has to prove himself," Spain captain Rodri admitted to reporters. "But he's a very important player for us because of what he does with and without the ball.

"It's true that he's 19 years old and that we have to calm him down at certain moments of the game. He's a very mature young man but he still has room to improve when it comes to reading the game, which is completely normal for his age.

"I'm the one who always tells him to keep going and not to stop playing if he doesn't get a foul, but he's a young man who listens, who wants to learn, and above all, sets a real example with his attitude."

'Anything I can do to help'

Yamal is aware of how crucial his mere presence on the field is to Spain, who have not lost a single game he has started since making his international debut in September 2023, and it has been impressive to watch how he has handled the incessant questions surrounding his lack of goals and assists.

"I know that with my movement I draw a lot of opponents away, so I can create space for a team-mate," he quite correctly pointed out.

"Anything I can do to help, even if I don't touch the ball in a play, is a positive. I think everyone's obsessed with scoring goals, but we won the European Championship with me scoring a single goal."

To be fair, that lone goal was just as important as it was stunning because it led to Spain's comeback in their 2-1 victory over France in the Euro 2024 semi-finals. There is still a hunch that Yamal may leave his mark on the competition before this World Cup is over.

Most importantly, he believes his big moment is approaching.

Saving the best for last?

"I've never been the best player in the group stage," Yamal told Mundo Deportivo last week. "The closer the important matches get, the semi-finals or the final, the better I play."

And there was sufficient evidence to back up that claim against France. Even though Yamal didn't score or assist in Texas, he tortured Lucas Digne the entire time, and Mikel Oyarzabal opened the score from the spot when the French full-back fouled the 19-year-old.

Yamal contributed to the build-up to Spain's devastating second goal as well. Before the offside flag was hoisted, he believed he had scored their third goal as well, finishing with his usually forceful left foot.

'Yamal is the best'

Amazingly, Yamal has already passed the deadline to deny Messi a third World Cup Golden Ball. This is absurd for two reasons: first, no one had ever won two before Messi, and second, he is now 39 years old!

But Messi's game-changing performance in Argentina's thrilling semifinal victory against England has most likely sealed the deal and might earn him a seventh Ballon d'Or.

These kinds of absurd accomplishments make it nearly impossible to imagine Yamal matching Messi. But when the legendary Argentine eventually decides to retire, no one is more qualified than Spain's adolescent superstar to take his position. Messi has even stated as much.

"There is a new generation of footballers who are very good and who have many years ahead of them, but if I have to choose one because of age, for what he has done so far and for the future he may have, it is Lamine," the Argentina captain said just a couple of months ago. "There’s no doubt, for me, he’s the best."

Yamal will get the opportunity to demonstrate this on Sunday, in front of his one and only idol—the footballing messiah he has always seemed destined to emulate.