All the teenagers to have featured in the World Cup final as Yamal looks to write more history

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17 July 2026

Spain face

Argentina

in the

World Cup

final on Sunday, with

Lamine Yamal

and Pau Cubarsi looking to become the latest teenagers to appear in world football’s showpiece match.

The

Barcelona

duo will be hoping to join an illustrious lists of players to have featured in the

final before turning 20-years-old.

Here are the other footballers who have featured in

finals as teenagers…

Rubén Morán’s participation for

Uruguay

was short and sweet, as he was handed his tournament debut in the 1950 final against

Brazil

. At the age of 19, Morán put in an assured performance as

defied the odds and came from behind to defeat the record Champions 2-1 at the Maracana in front of 173,000 people in a match that was titled ‘Maracanazo’.

One of the greatest footballers of all-time, Pelé was already a superstar in

, and had already announced himself in the 1958 edition of the tournament after scoring against Wales in the quarter-finals. Aged 17 at the time, Pele would go onto scoring a hat-trick against

France

in the semi-final to set up a showpiece final against hosts Sweden, where he was the catalyst for the Brazilians, scoring twice in the final to secure their first

title.

Regarded as one of the greatest Italian defenders of all-time, Bergomi started the 1982 quarter-final as a substitute for

Italy

against

, with his performance off the bench earning him a starting spot for his country’s semi-final clash against Poland, where they triumphed 2-0. At the age of 19, Bergomi would retain his place in the starting line-up for the final against West Germany, where the Italians would prevail 3-1.

The most recent addition to the list, Mbappe’s breakthrough international tournament came in the 2018 edition in Russia, where he guided Les Blues to their first title in 20 years. The PSG star broke numerous records during the finals, becoming the youngest French goalscorer in

history after scoring against Peru in the group stages. Mbappe would go on to score four times during the tournament, including once during the 4-2 final win against Croatia to become just the second teenager after Pele to score in a

final.

Four players were part of squads to feature in

finals, all Brazilian, but did not feature from the bench. José Altafini was 19-years-old during the 1958 addition, scoring twice against Austria before getting injured against England. He returned for the quarter-finals clash against Wales, but was replaced for the semi-final and final, with no substitutions allowed during the tournament. Coutinho was meant to be a starter at the 1962 edition, however an injury before the tournament meant he did not feature in the finals, but remained with the team as

retained their title.

Age 19, Marco Antônio won the 1970 edition, featuring in two matches, but the left back did not feature in the final as

defeated

4-1 in Mexico City.

Ronaldo

Nazário was selected for the 1994 edition of the

at the age of 17, but the forward did not feature during the tournament as the South Americans went on to secure their fourth

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