Ahead of the FIFA World Cup final in New York, legendary goalkeeper Oliver Kahn dismissed the Lionel Messi vs Lamine Yamal rivalry narrative, praised Spain’s tactical departure from tiki-taka, and emphasized the value of mentality over purely defensive tactics
Published Date – 17 July 2026, 06:18 PM
Mumbai: Legendary German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn has dismissed suggestions that Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final is a battle between Lionel Messi and Spain’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, saying the two are at completely different stages of their careers.
The defending champions Argentina will take on Spain in search of their fourth World Cup title and a second consecutive when they clash in New York.
“There’s no rivalry and no duel between these two guys because there’s one player who is 40 and the other one is 19 (years-old). Messi is the big role model of Yamal, both are very interesting (and they) both come from the same academy,” Kahn, a member of the Zee 5 expert panel on the World Cup, told reporters.
“Yamal is admiring him for years and wants to be the same like him. It’s a very, very special situation for the young guy.
“He won the Euros two years ago and now he has the chance to win the World Cup. For a 19-year-old guy, on one hand, yes, it’s huge, but on the other hand, he has to handle that in his life and for the future and all that’s coming on him. That’s not easy,” Kahn said.
Kahn said the role that Yamal has played in the Spain side is a lot different than he is used to, something that makes a little more to be desired from him.
“He has played very well this tournament, but he can play much better. In Barcelona, (it) is a little bit different. He (has) had a little bit more freedom, and maybe in the Spain system, he feels a little bit constrained. He has to fulfil a special role. But that’s what he has to work on in the next years,” Kahn said.
“… because if he’s playing for the national team, there are big guys like Rodri and he has to be respected and he has to show that he has earned this freedom,” he added.
Kahn likened Messi’s aura in front of the goal to his playing days.
“If he has a chance, mostly it’s a goal. If you see Messi in front of you as a goalkeeper, I think it was the same when some players see me as a goalkeeper. There is this kind of aura, this kind of respect. If Messi is in front of you, your chances are really, really small,” Kahn said.
Kahn praised Spain coach Luis de la Fuente for expanding the national team’s skills beyond the ‘tiki-taka’, terming it a “little boring”.
“It’s better to come slowly into a tournament, to get better and better game to game — and that’s what Spain did,” he said.
“… permanently relying on their system, on their organisation, on their tactical scheme. For me, which is the big difference today — if you compare Spain to 10 or 15 years ago; it’s not the tiki-taka football, which is partly a little bit boring.
“It’s always (about) building a lot of width on the field. De la Fuente further developed this, he refined the game. It’s more vertical, it’s more attacking and very important (fact is that) they integrated a number nine with (Mikel) Oyarzabal, a player which was missing in Spain,” Kahn added.
Citing Argentina’s example, Kahn said it is crucial to have a mix of players with great mentality as well as tactics for teams to succeed.
“Look at the Argentinian team, they are not thinking too much about tactic. Yes, they have a clear plan, everyone has his role and everyone knows what to do,” he said.
“But at the end, you need players with a great mentality in your tactical system. This World Cup has shown that with a pure defence game, you will not earn a lot in modern football.
“All teams, also the smaller countries, have their abilities to play partly offensive. And what happens if you only play too defensive? That’s what we saw when England tried only to play with two lines in their own penalty box. I don’t understand it today why that happens,” he added.
