World News for Students of English

23-07-2026 07:00

Ahead of the highly anticipated World Cup final between Argentina and Spain, Lionel Messi reflected on his connection with the rising Spanish star, Lamine Yamal.

Messi described a viral photograph taken years ago, showing him holding Yamal as a tiny baby, as completely crazy. He noted how remarkable it is that the baby from the photo has now grown up to face him on football’s biggest international stage. The 19-year-old Yamal was praised by Messi as one of the best players in the world right now, with a historic career ahead of him.

As a loyal Barcelona supporter, Messi expressed that he truly wishes Yamal the absolute best for the future, since his success directly benefits the Spanish club. However, Messi firmly stated that during the final, Argentina would give their maximum effort and do everything possible to defend against him, making sure Yamal couldn’t perform at his absolute best this time.

Difficult words: anticipated (expected or looked forward to with excitement because people know it is coming), viral (spreading very quickly from person to person across the internet or social media), effort (the physical or mental energy and hard work that you need to do something).

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