The world has turned its attention to the closure of the 2026 FIFA World Cupafter two of the big favorites reached the final to compete for the title of world champions. In the midst of this expectation, a theory emerged about whether FIFA has organized its matches, after a photograph of Messi with Lamine Yamal when he was a baby resurfaced.
The world’s attention is focused mainly on the teams of Spain and Argentina, which this July 19 will compete for the world soccer title at the New York-New Jersey Stadium, where one of them will lift the cup.
The arrival of these two teams to the final has given rise to a theory, since on social networks it is asked whether FIFA “scripts” its matches. The hypothesis arose from a photograph taken by Joan Monfort in 2007, in which Messi appears with the baby Lamine Yamal.
This theory was taken up by host Jimmy Fallon, who gave a comic monologue about the alleged conspiracy circulating on social networks. It was during his program The Tonight Show where he said: “This photo is going viral”, while showing the image of Messi bathing Yamal when he was a baby.
“Some fans say this is a huge conspiracy and that FIFA has been scripting every match for the last 20 years,” he continued. He then pointed out that this idea was ridiculous and even commented on how naive one would have to be to believe it.
However, he suddenly changed his tone and, with a serious expression, said: “Until you investigate it”, which made the audience laugh, because, according to the humorous monologue, there is a mathematical formula that would explain everything.
Yes, those photos you’ve seen are real.
More than 18 years ago, a baby named Lamine Yamal and his mother Sheila met Lionel Messi at a UNICEF fundraising photoshoot.
Today, their achievements on the pitch inspire millions. Off the pitch, both Messi and Lamine Yamal use their voices… pic.twitter.com/TSoUPDxia2
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) July 16, 2026
His calculation began by remembering: “Messi is 39 years old now, but he was 20 in that photo.” He then continued: “39 minus 20 is 19, which is how old Lamine Yamal is now,” which added a touch of uncertainty to the parody.
Fallon’s theory continues with the question: “And what number does Yamal wear?” “Exactly, the 19th,” he replies, while his gestures provoked laughter from the audience.
Then he added: “This photo was taken in 2007, 19 years ago.” Immediately afterwards he asked again: “And what was Messi’s shirt number in 2007? Exactly, 19.”
This is a photo of Messi at 20 years old in 2007 holding a newborn child: Lamine Yamal.
The photo occurred in 2007. UNICEF held a raffle to take a photo with a Barcelona player in the Roca Fonda neighborhood, in Mataró, and Lamine’s family won.
And that’s why… pic.twitter.com/Nb9VilDYL5
— Live Goals (@golesendir_) July 15, 2026
At the climax of the conspiracy theory that the monologue develops, Fallon said again: “But it gets even crazier. Because the finale takes place this Sunday, July 19.”
The moment continued with the joke by performing a dynamic with the public, asking them to take out some envelopes that, when adding their numbers, resulted in 19, which reinforced, in a humorous tone, the conspiracy theory that surrounds not only the photograph, but also the final of the tournament.
Expectations continue to grow as the hours go by ahead of the FIFA World Cup final, as Spain will seek its second World Cup, while Argentina will try to win its fourth.
On the Jimmy Fallon show they theorized about a FIFA conspiracy following the baby photo of Messi and Lamine Yamal and the coincidences with the number 19
The truth is that it doesn’t sound so crazy…pic.twitter.com/aUwEtuSm8P
— VERSUS (@VERSUSapuestas) July 17, 2026