Lamine Yamal's remarks likely to anger Messi

In Spain, which reached the championship by defeating Argentina 1-0 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, Lamine Yamal was one of the standout figures with his post-match comments. Following the victory, the young footballer both evaluated his team's success and directed harsh criticism at the opponent's style of play.

Yamal stated that Spain deserved to win the cup and that they had fought hard throughout the tournament. The young player described the joy of the World Cup as one of the most special moments of his career.

We absolutely deserved this. We fought hard for this cup and we won. It is the happiest day of my life. Winning this cup was every footballer's dream, and we achieved it.

Arguing that Argentina did not want to play football on the pitch in the final, Yamal expressed that Spain was the side dictating the game. Yamal also made a reference to Argentina regarding the previous Finalissima match.

They backed down against us in the Finalissima match, and today they didn't want to play football either. There was only one team on the pitch playing football. We showed everyone that the deserving side won.

The young star also touched upon the red card expectation that arose after the incident between Lionel Messi and Marc Cucurella. Claiming that Argentina tried to stop Spain with rough tackles, Yamal said this plan did not yield results.

They wanted to stop us by injuring us, they kept committing fouls. They wanted to get an unfair red card, but none of it worked.

Yamal's words found wide resonance on social media and in the football community following Spain's World Cup victory. While the statements drew reactions, especially from Argentine fans, the focus of the debate after the final became the struggle between the two teams on the pitch as much as the match score.