Watch: Beyoncé and Jay-Z Have Rare Date Night at World Cup 2026 Final
Before Spanish soccer star Lamine Yamal stepped onto the pitch for his country’s FIFA World Cup-clinching match against Argentina July 19, the internet was getting quite the kick out of a 2007 photo shoot he shared with opponent Lionel Messi.
Just 6 months old, the future FC Barcelona prodigy won a raffle to pose with the sport’s soon-to-be most decorated athlete—FIFA alone has named him the world’s best player eight times—for a UNICEF calendar.
It’s a piece of history that even stunned Yamal’s teammates.
“The first time I saw it, I thought it was AI and that it wasn’t even real,” fellow national team squad member Mikel Merino told reporters July 17. “It’s unbelievable that two of the best players to have played the game—and hopefully Lamine, in the future, will be one of those—share a picture like that.”
But Yamal and his squad bested 2022’s World Cup winner at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, it was another clip that tackled fans’ hearts.
In the Fox Sports video, Yamal’s 3-year-old brother Keyne—clutching a piece of the net he scored as a souvenir—sprinted across the pitch to deliver that first congratulatory hug.
And if the 19-year-old (he celebrated his birthday during the weeks-long tourney) wasn’t already thrilled with his first World Cup, well, seeing how psyched his little sibling was certainly provided quite the assist.
Because after Keyne delivered another winning fan performance as Spain defeated Austria in the round of 32 July 2, shouting “Vamos!” (as in, let’s go) during the match, Yamal detailed to reporters what it means to have him on his proverbial roster.
“I’m moved when I see my little brother this happy, as well as seeing my mum and friends living the life they always dreamed of,” Yamal shared in a post-game interview. “My little brother means everything to me. I am in love with him; it feels like he is my son.”
Really, the toddler—he and Yamal share mom Sheila Ebana—has basically been adopted by the entire Spanish fan base.
Among his winning bids to be crowned most valuable spectator: Delighting his brother with a series of silly faces during their July 10 game against Belgium and waving after Spain advanced past frontrunner France four days later.
Photo by Johnny Fidelin/Icon Sport via Getty Images
For Yamal, being able to provide this sort of unbridled joy is what truly leaves him feeling like a winner.
“Look, my mum had me when she was 16,” FC Barcelona’s standout right winger recently shared in an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena SER. As such, dad Mounir Nasraoui “also had to go out and look for a life, sometimes picking up stuff in the streets to try to come back home with food for us. To me, this is real pressure, not what I have.”
Though he does consider it his job to keep the family huddled together.
Everyone was on hand when the phenom signed his latest six-year contract last July and Keyne is a constant fixture in the stands.
He scored that first metaphorical goal in 2024 after Spain clinched the European Championship and he hit the pitch alongside Yamal.
And in the years since, he’s earned his role as MVP of Yamal’s TikTok page, his videos delighting the athlete’s 60 million-plus followers. In one May clip, he steers his own miniature Mercedes-Benz. In another, he pounds it out with his big bro.
Which is why Keyne may soon get into the game himself, The Athletic reporting brands have reached out about collaborating with the preschooler.
Of course, Keyne wasn’t the only spectator making moves at the World Cup. We’ve got the full roster of stars who turned out for the final match.
Maddie Meyer – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Tom Weller/picture alliance via Getty Images
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images
Courtesy of Raising Cane’s
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images
Mike Stobe/Getty Images for Casamigos
Arturo Holmes – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Jordan Bank/Getty Images for FIFA
Arturo Holmes – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Courtesy of Nike
Courtesy of Raising Cane’s
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen
Courtesy of Raising Cane’s
FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images
Courtesy of Michelob ULTRA
Alex Pantling – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
GSI/Icon Sport via Getty Images
Steve Eicher/Backgrid
Courtesy of Raising Cane’s
Courtesy of Michelob ULTRA
Michael Simon/Getty Images for Jameson
UTV Agency
Deonté Lee/BFA.com/Shutterstock
Seth Browarnik/WorldRedEye
Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
Courtesy of SoFi
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ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP via Getty Images
Getty Images for FIFA
Mike Stobe/Getty Images for Casamigos
