On Wednesday, July 15, the Argentine team staged a stunning comeback, defeating the England team and advancing to the 2026 World Cup final. Antonela Roccuzzo, the wife of Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi, posted a family photo on Instagram with her sons wearing matching jerseys to celebrate the Argentine team’s advancement to the World Cup final.
After Argentina’s 2-1 victory over England, the 38-year-old Roccuzzo shared a photo of herself with her three sons on Instagram. In the caption, she wrote, “Gracias Dios!!! Vamooos Argentina!!!! A la Final!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,” which translates to “Thank you God!!! Let’s go Argentina! Into the final!”
In the photo, the mother of three children and her sons were all seen wearing matching Argentine team jerseys, witnessing Messi’s victory in the World Cup. Roccuzzo also shared several personal photos and a selfie taken before the crucial match at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Argentine team made a remarkable comeback from behind to reach the World Cup final for the second consecutive time. This victory has kept alive the team’s hopes of defending their championship, as they won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Messi lifted the World Cup trophy for the first time.
Roccuzzo has been supporting Lionel Messi throughout the tournament, often documenting moments of the family cheering for the Argentine team. After Argentina’s victory over Egypt in the round of 16 on July 7, she shared a photo of herself and her three sons cheering for Messi.
“Let’s go Argentina. @leomessi words cannot describe all of this,” she wrote in Spanish.
The long-time partners met as children in their hometown of Rosario, Argentina. They reunited in 2005 and welcomed their first son, Thiago, in 2012. Their second son, Mateo, was born in 2015, followed by their youngest son, Ciro, in 2018.
Messi and Roccuzzo tied the knot on June 30, 2017, in Rosario.
In 2019, when asked about the qualities in his wife that he admires the most, Messi told Marca, “I admire everything about my wife.”
This World Cup holds special significance for Messi, as he has achieved a series of milestones. As he prepares for the final game of this tournament, Messi has scored 21 goals, setting the record for the most goals by a single player. Additionally, he has participated in six World Cup tournaments, a record he shares with Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.
The World Cup final between the Spanish team and the Argentine team is set to take place on Sunday, July 19, at 3 p.m. EDT at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Messi will lead the Argentine team against the Spanish team, including the 19-year-old Spanish star Lamine Yamal.
Behind this showdown lies an extraordinary backstory, with Yamal rising to international stardom, reigniting interest in their shared history.
In 2024, a set of charity calendar photos taken in 2008 resurfaced, showing 20-year-old Messi bathing a five-month-old Yamal at Camp Nou, an event organized by FC Barcelona and UNICEF.
Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, shared one of the photos on Instagram, captioning it, “The beginning of two legends.”
Photographer Joan Monfort explained that the photoshoot took place after Yamal’s family won a lottery organized by UNICEF and the Catalan newspaper Diario Sport.
UNICEF held a lottery event in the Roca Fonda community of Mataró, where Yamal’s family lived, and they had the opportunity to take a photo with a Barça player at Camp Nou.
Monfort recounted Messi’s reaction during the photoshoot.
“He was very shy and introverted at the time. He didn’t know how to hold (Yamal),” Monfort said.
Now, the Argentine team sets its sights on the Spanish team, aiming to defend their World Cup championship.