{"id":110935,"date":"2026-07-17T15:40:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/in-lamine-yamals-old-neighbourhood-world-cup-final-against-messi-brings-pride\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T15:40:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:40:30","slug":"in-lamine-yamals-old-neighbourhood-world-cup-final-against-messi-brings-pride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/in-lamine-yamals-old-neighbourhood-world-cup-final-against-messi-brings-pride\/","title":{"rendered":"In Lamine Yamal's old neighbourhood, World Cup final against Messi brings pride"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The pitch where Spain<\/a> forward Lamine Yamal honed his skills in a working-class, multi-ethnic neighbourhood outside Barcelona was buzzing with life on Thursday as locals looked ahead with pride to the World Cup final against Lionel Messi\u2019s Argentina<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that the moment has come when the two of them are going to play against each other, it\u2019s incredible,\u201d said Keba, an 18-year-old Senegalese resident, referring to Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal\u2019s well-known admiration for Messi.<\/p>\n

Messi, 39, enjoyed the peak years of his career at Barcelona, having come through the club\u2019s youth academy, and a viral photograph<\/a> showing the Argentine with a baby Lamine Yamal, now 19, has captured imaginations ahead of Sunday\u2019s final in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Pedro, 83, talks in front of a jersey of soccer player Lamine Yamal displaying on the wall of Bar El Cordobes at Rocafonda neighbourhood in Mataro, north of Barcelona, Spain on July 16, 2026. \u2014 Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As children from migrant families played on a pitch behind a mural featuring Lamine Yamal\u2019s face in the Rocafonda neighbourhood, in the coastal city of Mataro, his grandmother, Fatima Nasraoui, and his 15-year-old cousin Rayan watched from a nearby bench.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want Spain to win,\u201d she said, adding that she would shout loudly if he scores.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, Lamine means many good things, but above all, he\u2019s like a brother because we grew up together,\u201d his cousin said.<\/p>\n

Lamine Yamal\u2019s grandmother, Fatima Nasraoui, and his cousin Rayan, 15, sit on a bench at a park in Rocafonda neighbourhood in Mataro, north of Barcelona, Spain on July 16, 2026. \u2014 Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lamine Yamal, who was born in Spain to a Moroccan father and mother from Equatorial Guinea, has never forgotten his roots. Throughout his career, he has honoured Rocafonda with his trademark \u201c304\u201d hand gesture after scoring goals \u2014 a reference to the neighbourhood\u2019s postal code.<\/p>\n

During the World Cup, he has worn a headband with \u201cRocafonda\u201d on it, donned the flags of his parents\u2019 countries of origin on his boots, and said football was an example of racial and social integration.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pitch where Spain forward Lamine Yamal honed his skills in a working-class, multi-ethnic neighbourhood outside Barcelona was buzzing with life on Thursday as locals looked ahead with pride to the World Cup final against Lionel Messi\u2019s Argentina. \u201cNow that the moment has come when the two of them are going to play against each […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110936,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2026\/07\/172006039eaad12.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t