Spain winger Lamine Yamal says watching Lionel Messi light up another World Cup at 39 feels like witnessing football history repeat itself in real time, only more astonishing with age.

Messi is leading the Golden Boot race with eight goals and was decisive yet again in Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Egypt, a performance that pushed the defending champions into the quarterfinals and deepened the sense that he is bending the limits of longevity at the elite level.

“Incredible,” Yamal told Spanish outlet El Mundo Deportivo when asked about Messi’s tournament. “Everyone knows who Messi is, but no one expected him to be playing at such a high level. I’m really happy for him.”

Messi, who inspired Argentina to their third World Cup crown in Qatar and ended a 36-year wait for the trophy, has now scored in nine consecutive World Cup matches since that triumph. For Yamal, who inherited Messi’s iconic No. 10 shirt at Barcelona, the current tournament is a bridge between generations: the idols of his childhood still defining games as his own era begins.

“I’m happy for Neymar, even though he’s no longer here, and for Cristiano Ronaldo,” Yamal said. “They shaped the childhoods of all of us who are playing now.”

Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 80 goals, bowed out of international football after Brazil’s round-of-16 defeat to Norway. The forward had battled injuries and had not played for the Seleção since late 2023 before returning for this World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup appearance came against Yamal’s Spain, who edged Portugal 1-0 to end the veteran forward’s last shot at the one major trophy missing from his collection. Ronaldo leaves the tournament as the only player to score in six World Cups and remains the all-time leader in international goals and caps.

For Yamal, admiration does not dilute ambition. “Anything good that happens to them will be good for me,” he said. “That said, if I make it to the final, I want to win it.”

Having completed the full 90 minutes against Portugal, his longest outing at a World Cup, Yamal insists there is more to come as Spain prepare for a quarterfinal against Belgium in Inglewood, California.

“I think I can do better,” he said. “The closer the important matches get, the semifinals or the final, the better I play. I’m really looking forward to showing what we’re capable of as a team and what I’m capable of.”