The historic photograph in which a young Lionel Messi appears alongside a baby Lamine Yamal has once again gone viral worldwide. The image, taken in 2007 during a solidarity campaign by FC Barcelona and UNICEF, has resurfaced strongly in the days leading up to the 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain. Its impact has even reached American television, where host Jimmy Fallon made it the centerpiece of one of the monologues on The Tonight Show.
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The comedian used the snapshot as a starting point to build a parody about the conspiracy theories circulating on social media. With his characteristic ironic tone, Fallon pretended to prove that FIFA had “written” the destiny of football over the last two decades based on a series of numerical coincidences related to Messi, Lamine Yamal, and the number 19.
Before developing the joke, the host wanted to clarify the origin of the image and reminded that it is an authentic photograph. “This photo is going viral. Have you seen this? This is real. This is a real photo of Messi and a baby Yamal. It really is him as a baby,” Fallon explained, also specifying that “this is from 2007.”
From there, he moved on to the supposed conspiracy theory with a clearly humorous tone. “Some fans are saying this is a huge conspiracy and that FIFA has been scripting every match for the last 20 years. Well, that’s obviously ridiculous. I mean, you have to be dumb to believe that. Until you investigate it,” he commented amid the audience’s laughter.
The host of The Tonight Show then began linking different coincidences related to the photograph. According to him, Messi is currently 39 years old and at the time the image was taken he was 20. “Messi is 39 now, but he was 20 in that photo. 39 minus 20 is 19, which is the age Lamine Yamal is now.”
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Fallon continued the game by recalling that the Spanish international also wears that same number. “And what number does Yamal wear? Exactly, 19.” The sequence of coincidences didn’t end there. The host pointed out that the photograph was taken in 2007, exactly 19 years before the 2026 World Cup final, and added another detail related to the Argentine footballer. “This photo was taken in 2007, which was 19 years ago. And what was Messi’s jersey number in 2007? Exactly, 19.”
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As a closing to the monologue, Fallon linked that number with the date of the match between Spain and Argentina. “That’s totally real, but it gets even crazier. Because the final takes place this Sunday, July 19.”
The comedian went a step further and involved the show’s audience in a previously prepared game. He invited several attendees to open envelopes hidden under their seats to continue chaining mathematical operations whose final result was again the number 19, finishing the act with another phrase full of irony. “There you have it. The World Cup final is written!”
The photograph that inspires the whole joke was taken during a solidarity action organized by FC Barcelona and UNICEF in 2007. In it, a young Lionel Messi participates in a photo session alongside a few-months-old baby, Lamine Yamal who, years later, would become one of the great promises of Spanish football and considered by many as the football heir of the Argentine star.
