New York’s Times Square was transformed into a sea of blue and white on Saturday after Argentina fans took over the area ahead of this weekend’s World Cup final.
As ‘La Albiceleste’ prepare to face off with Spain at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium in Sunday’s showpiece event, thousands of fans swarmed upon the Big Apple.
In wild scenes captured by The Daily Mail, Argentina supporters were seen singing, dancing and waving flags as they partied in the rain at the New York landmark.
Despite New York battling through flash floods, that didn’t appear to dampen the Argentina fans’ spirits as they weathered the storm on Saturday afternoon.
The South American fans were clearly still reeling from their dramatic comeback against England in the tournament’s semi-final on Wednesday evening.
Lionel Messi and Co. staged a late resurgence to book their place in Sunday’s final, after scoring two goals in the dying moments to beat the Three Lions 2-1.
New York’s Time Square was transformed into a sea of blue and white on Saturday after Argentina fans took over the area ahead of this weekend’s World Cup final
Thousands of supporters swarmed to the iconic New York landmark one day before the final
Despite New York battling flash floods, that didn’t dampen the mood for Argentina fans
England had taken the lead through winger Anthony Gordon in the 55th minute, before Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez struck for Argentina.
Meanwhile, Spain defeated France 2-0 in their respective semi-final – with Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro on the scoresheet for La Roja.
Sunday’s final will see Barcelona legend Messi take on Spain’s 19-year-old star Lamine Yamal – who once crossed paths in bizarre circumstances years ago.
Once their date with destiny was confirmed, a barely-believable photo of an astonishing encounter in 2007 resurfaced on social media this week.
The snap in question shows then-Barcelona star Messi, while carrying out a photoshoot for local newspaper Diario Sport and charity UNICEF, sitting on the floor to help to bathe the future Spain wonderkid in a blue plastic bathtub, before later cradling him while he’s wrapped in a towel.
The pictures were posted on Instagram by Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, in 2024 with the caption: ‘The beginning of two legends.’
Two days before they meet in the World Cup final, Messi was asked about the extraordinary images of him with a young Yamal after appearing at Fanatics Fest in New York City.
‘That picture, it was crazy. Him as a baby, and now we are facing each other… so once again what a crazy picture,’ the soccer legend said when asked by NFL icon Tom Brady about the photos.
Thousands of fans were seen singing, dancing and chanting throughout the afternoon
Argentina fans made use of branded umbrellas as they battled the elements on Saturday
Lionel Messi admits the viral photo of him bathing a six-month-old Lamine Yamal is ‘crazy’
Messi is set to collide with Yamal in the World Cup final, almost two decades after he helped bathe the future Spain wonderkid as a baby
‘I just wish him the best of luck, and he’s part of the Barcelona squad as well. We will try to give them [Spain] the best match possible, [but] Lamine is not the only great player that Spain has. So again we will give it our all.’
Before addressing the UNICEF photos, Messi described Yamal as ‘one of the best players in the world right now.’
‘He’s only 19 years old and he has all of his future ahead. He has the opportunity to make history, but we are also going to give it our best,’ he added.
Photographer Joan Monfort, who works as a freelance photojournalist for the AP, took the photos of Messi and Yamal in 2007 as part of a charity calendar produced by local newspaper Sport and UNICEF.
