Uruguay<\/strong>, which could lead to a R\u00edo de la Plata derby between the ‘charr\u00faas’ and Argentinians in the round of 16.<\/p> Failing that, if Argentina tops their group and Spain finishes second in Group H, Luis de la Fuente’s team would face the reigning world champions for a spot in the round of 16. If La Roja tops their zone, their opponent in the round of 32 will be **Austria, Algeria, or Jordan**<\/p>
\u2705 There would be a Spain-Argentina match in the World Cup round of 16 if:<\/u><\/strong><\/p> \t\ud83d\udc49 Spain finishes first in group H and Argentina second in group J<\/strong>. The match would be played on July 2, 2026, in Los Angeles.<\/p> \t<\/li> \t \t\ud83d\udc49 Argentina finishes first in group L and Spain second in group H<\/strong>. The match would be played on July 3, 2026, in Miami.<\/p> \t<\/li> <\/ol> Spain and Argentina would only meet in the final if they top their groups<\/h2> Given the composition of both groups (H and J), logic suggests that both Spain and Argentina will advance to the next phase as group leaders. Thus, the two teams would be placed on opposite sides of the bracket<\/strong> and would only face each other in a hypothetical final on July 19 in New York.<\/p> Spain, in the round of 16, would await the winner between the second-place team in group K and the second-place team in group L. In that regard, their opponent could be Portugal, Colombia, England, or Croatia<\/strong>, these four favorites to finish first and second in both groups.<\/p> Argentina, for its part, would face in the round of 16 the winner of the tie between the second in Group D (in theory **the United States or Paraguay**) and the second in Group G (**Belgium or Egypt**, the favorites).<\/p>
The Finalissima, the other stage to see Lamine Yamal against Leo Messi<\/h2> Beyond the World Cup, the possibility of seeing a Leo Messi vs Lamine Yamal match in the Finalissima prior to the main competition organized by FIFA is also on the table. **UEFA and CONMEBOL** have yet to define the date and venue for the tournament that pits the champions of the last European Championship and Copa Am\u00e9rica against each other, but various rumors point to **March 27 in Qatar** as the most likely scenario.<\/p>
Spain and Argentina, in this way, would define the champion of the tournament which, in its first edition (2022), had Argentina as champion<\/strong>. The Albiceleste thrashed Italy (3-0) at Wembley before the Qatar World Cup, where the South Americans also took the title.<\/p> Both teams view the match favorably, but Argentina would be demanding financial compensation, which has not yet been agreed upon by the parties. This would be the first time Messi and Lamine face each other, in an unbeatable setting prior to a World Cup where both teams arrive as title contenders.<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Leo Messi and Lamine Yamal could face each other much sooner than expected in the next World Cup. Spain and Argentina’s groups will cross paths in the round of 16 The draw for the 2026 World Cup held on Friday in Washington presented an unexpected scenario for Spain and Argentina on their path to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":347,"featured_media":41604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109,452],"tags":[399,147,465,91],"class_list":["post-41598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-football-2","tag-football-world-cup","tag-lamine-yamal","tag-lamine-yamal-2","tag-national-teams"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Spain-Argentina: options to watch a Messi-Lamine in 2026<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n