By the time you read this on Monday, the result of the World Cup final will already be known.
Spain or Argentina? Either my high school classmate Anton Perdices — the Spanish consul in Cebu — will be celebrating, or the millions of Lionel Messi fans around the world will be rejoicing.
Either way, there’s one clear winner: football.
Since the World Cup kicked off on June 11, we’ve witnessed a month of unforgettable moments. To end it with Europe’s finest against South America’s best was the perfect finale.
What made this final even more fascinating was that, incredibly, Spain and Argentina had met only once before in World Cup history. That was back in 1966, when Argentina won, 2-1, in the group stage. Hard to believe, but it took six decades before they crossed paths again on football’s biggest stage.
Their rivalry couldn’t have been more balanced. Before this final, they had met 14 times. Argentina won six. Spain won six. Two ended in draws. You couldn’t ask for a more evenly matched championship.
The credentials were equally impressive. Spain entered as the reigning European champions. Argentina came in as the defending World Cup and Copa América champions.
But for me, the best story — or perhaps the most unforgettable photograph of 2026 — belongs to Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal.
You’ve surely seen the photo. Taken in 2007 during a Barcelona charity calendar shoot, Messi was just 20 years old. The baby he was holding? Lamine Yamal.
Nearly two decades later, that little boy stood across from the man who once cradled him. Hollywood couldn’t have written a better script.
Speaking of Messi, how can you not admire the GOAT? In an era when LeBron James continues to defy Father Time (I’m hoping he’ll go to the 76ers) and Novak Djokovic keeps rewriting tennis history, Messi has done the same in football. Here’s another fun fact: Djokovic (May 22, 1987) and Messi (June 24, 1987) were born just 33 days apart.
That photo of Messi and Yamal has become symbolic — not only of two FC Barcelona stars, but of one generation passing the torch to the next.
Beyond football, Spain and Argentina share deep roots. Millions of Argentines trace their ancestry to Spain. They speak the same language, share cultural traditions and are connected by centuries of history. One report described this World Cup final as a “family reunion,” with relatives and friends cheering for opposite sides.
One more interesting fact: Argentina’s land area is more than five times larger than Spain’s, yet the two countries have almost the same population—about 47 million people.
No matter who lifted the trophy earlier today, this final was more than a football match. For 90+ minutes, billions of people watched the same game (probably the most-watched event in history); we all shared the same emotions and spoke the same language. In the end, the winner was football.
