Times Square turned blue and white on Saturday as Argentina supporters flooded the heart of New York City ahead of this weekend’s World Cup final.
With La Albiceleste set to meet Spain in Sunday’s showpiece at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, thousands of fans descended on the Big Apple to begin the celebrations early.
Scenes captured by The Daily Mail showed Argentina fans singing, dancing and waving flags as they packed the famous landmark, turning a rainy afternoon into a full-scale street party.
Even as New York dealt with flash flooding, the storm did little to quiet the traveling support, with fans braving the downpour and keeping the atmosphere alive throughout Saturday afternoon.
The South American supporters appeared to still be riding the emotion of Argentina’s dramatic semi-final comeback against England on Wednesday night.
Lionel Messi and his teammates sealed their place in Sunday’s final with a stunning late rally, scoring twice in the closing moments to defeat the Three Lions 2-1.
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
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
They then partied the night away as the rain continued to pour down in Times Square
Argentina fans are in fine spirits ahead of their bid to win a second straight World Cup
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.
