Lionel Messi speaks in advance of World Cup final, says Argentina 'will give it our all'

NEW YORK (AP) — The lineup of sports legends simultaneously on the stage at Fanatics Fest on Friday night was almost absurd. There was Tom Brady, the greatest Super Bowl champion of all time. There was Novak Djokovic, the winner of more men's Grand Slam tennis tournaments than anyone else. There was Kevin Durant, the only four-time Olympic gold medalist in men's basketball history.

And before they left, they all got a selfie with Lionel Messi.

Let that be the latest proof of Messi's power: Even the biggest stars in the sports universe clearly enjoy a chance to be around the best soccer player of all-time. They'll all be watching Sunday — along with probably 1.5 billion other people worldwide — when Messi and Argentina face Spain in the World Cup final.

“We will give it our all,” Messi said.

The star-studded news conference was expected to be Messi's last public appearance before Sunday's final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. FIFA decided to use Fanatics Fest — a four-day celebration of sports in New York, replete with autograph signings and celebrity appearances — as the backdrop for its preview news conferences, meaning hundreds of people got the chance to get a glimpse of Messi in the sort of setting not usually open to the public.

“It goes beyond words what Messi means as a player and what he means for Argentina,” Spain captain Rodri said. “Obviously, for me, he’s the greatest of all times.”

The idea for the appearance by Messi and the other players and coaches from Argentina and Spain was simple: Instead of having traditional media asking questions, the stars got to do the asking.

Brady probed Messi about a remarkable photo that has gone viral this week of him bathing a cute baby boy who grew up to be Spain star Lamine Yamal — “What a crazy picture,” Messi said. Djokovic asked Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni about dealing with pressure, then posed a version of that same question to Messi.

And when Messi finished, Djokovic simply said, “Gracias, Leo.” Djokovic then asked Spain coach Luis de la Fuente and captain Rodri about staying calm in big moments, before Brady asked Messi about the infamous photo with Yamal, and Rodri about what he'll say to teammates before Sunday's final. Durant then came out, asking Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez about what it would mean to win back-to-back World Cups.

The Argentina and Spain sides, to their credit, seemed to enjoy the show. The World Cup final is a spectacle, and so was the preview event.

“It's one more game,” Scaloni said. “We cannot really think about the fact that it's a World Cup final.”

It was not the easiest of roads for Argentina to get back to the final, even though the defending champions (7-0-0) are the only unbeaten and untied team left in the tournament; Spain (6-0-1) drew its opening match against Cape Verde.

Argentina had to rally from a 1-0 second-half deficit to beat England in the semifinals, had to rally from a 2-0 second-half deficit to beat Egypt in the Round of 16, and got taken to extra time by both Cape Verde (in the round of 32) and Switzerland (in the quarterfinals).

“I've said many times: We never stop fighting,” Messi said.

With that, the defending champions got their ticket to New York. And when Messi walked onto that stage Friday, not many of those who were jammed inside the theater applauded — since they were holding their phones instead, hoping to capture images of the moment.

Messi knew what they wanted. He smiled and waved. They roared.

When the event wrapped up, everyone — the players, the coaches, actor and comedian Kevin Hart, rapper and producer Travis Scott, England great Rio Ferdinand, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin and more — gathered for that selfie with the fans in the background.

“Sunday is going to be a great show,” Scaloni said.

It seemed like Messi may have taken a quick look at the case holding the trophy before he departed. Either way, it's not like he needs a reminder of what's at stake. No team has won back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, and Messi now has a chance to add one more accomplishment to his already overstuffed resume.

"We've got a group of players and a group of coaches that are working incredibly hard every single day to try to bring happiness to my country," Martinez said. “We're going to give absolutely our best, with Leo, with the team that we have, to bring the World Cup back to my country and celebrate with our people.”

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Tennis player Novak Djokovic greets Argentina's Lionel Messi as goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, left, and head coach Lionel Scaloni look on during a news conference ahead of the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in New York, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Argentina's Lionel Messi, head coach Lionel Scaloni listens to tennis player Novak Djokovic during a news conference ahead of the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in New York, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

From left, Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and head coach Lionel Scaloni listen as Lionel Messi speaks during a news conference ahead of the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in New York, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Argentina's Lionel Messi waves during a news conference ahead of the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in New York, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Argentina's Lionel Messi listens to former NFL player Tom Brady during a news conference ahead of the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in New York, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge's broken rib has not completely healed, and the New York Yankees captain still hasn't been cleared to resume baseball activities.

Judge hasn't played since May 31 because of a stress fracture in his right ribs. He had a scan during the All-Star break and called the result positive news.

“Part of it's healing. The other part of it's still trying to bridge together,” the three-time AL MVP said before the Yankees started the second half Friday night against the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

Judge and the Yankees were waiting for an evaluation of the scans from Dr. Gregory J. Pearl, chair of the department of vascular surgery at Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital in Texas. Judge will need another scan before he is cleared for baseball activities and given a timeframe for a return.

“I’m going to wait for the doctors to kind of tell us what to do and what they see when they look at it,” Judge said. “We've got a big team of guys looking at this just so we get the best answer and have the right plan.”

Judge is hitting .248 with 17 homers and 38 RBIs but had just one homer in his last 18 games before going on the injured list. The 34-year-old outfielder has done lower-body work, used a treadmill and climbed steps — but no baseball activities or heavy weightlifting. He's stopped the bicycle work he did earlier during the layoff.

“It’s feeling better. It was a couple weeks that were tough, couldn’t do a lot, but now we’re feeling 10 times better,” he said. “So that was my big complaint, well, if I’m feeling better, how about we start moving? But I think they just don’t want to start adding baseball activities and other stuff and all of a sudden we have a setback and it pushes everything back.”

When he is able to play, Judge doesn't want to go on a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment.

“I hate rehab games, so I've got to talk with them about all that, because why waste at-bats in a rehab game?” Judge said.

New York was 36-23 when he last played but was 18-19 since as the second half began Friday.

“I feel good about the fact that he will be back but it's just a matter of when,” manager Aaron Boone said.

Left-hander Max Fried, out since May 14 because of a left elbow bone bruise, made his first rehab start Friday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Worcester, allowing two runs and five hits over three innings with three strikeouts and no walks. Fried threw 32 of 52 pitches for strikes.

Fried gave up Andrew Knizner's RBI single in the first and Kenedy Corona's home run on a changeup in the second. He will have at least one more minor league outing before returning to the Yankees' rotation.

Shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr. homered for the RailRiders in his return from the injured list. He hadn't played for Scranton since June 16 because of sprained fingers on his left hand.

Left-hander Carlos Rodón, who has not pitched since June 28 because of left elbow inflammation, threw 10 pitches off a mound Friday but has not progressed to a bullpen session.

Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who hasn’t played since April 24 because of a strained right calf, started a running progression outdoors.

Clarke Schmidt, coming back from Tommy John surgery on July 11 last year, was set to throw an inning of batting practice Saturday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge looks on from the dugout during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, July 17, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge watches from the dugout during a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays Monday, July 6, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)