A 9-year-old Valentino Acuña once played a young Lionel Messi in a film and now scored for Argentina at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Valentino Acuna scored a goal for Argentina's U17 National team in the U17 World Cup against Japan on Tuesday, helping to deliver a 3-1 win.
But Acuna is not just any young striker. He was cast to fill in as Lionel Messi's stunt double in the 2014 film "Messi." Acuna was specifically chosen to emulate Messi in dribbling scenes due to his ball-handling ability in scenes depicting his childhood.
The film as a whole was a documentary, however it included a handful of scripted scenes with actors like Acuna for dramatic effect. The scenes and segments of Messi's childhood were among the most praised by critics and fans.
Acuna was born in the exact same Argentina town that Messi was born in — Rosario, Santa Fe. Acuna plays for the youth club of Argentine sports club Newell’s Old Boys, which Messi also played for as a child.