Barca mount late comeback to stun Atletico in thriller
Barcelona battled back from two goals down to beat Atletico Madrid 4-2 and land an important blow in the Spanish title race on Sunday.
Lamine yamal Sport News
Spain’s Yamal aims to join elite club of teenage World Cup winners
EAST RUTHERFORD, United States: Lionel Messi will become the oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup final on Sunday as Spain’s Lamine Yamal seeks to join an elite group of teenage winners. The match at the MetLife Stadium will be the first meeting between Argentina’s Messi and the player who has succeeded him as Barcelona’s new homegrown idol. The only player to appear in a final at an older age than Messi is Dino Zoff, the Italy goalkeeper who was 40 in 1982. Yamal, in sharp contrast, only turned 19 last Monday, the day before Spain beat France 2-0 in their semifinal. Everything has happened at warp speed for Yamal, who made his Barcelona debut at the tender age of 15. His first cap for Spain came when he was 16, and he had only just celebrated his 17th birthday when he helped La Roja beat England in the Euro 2024 final — he was named the best young player at that tournament. Yamal was the runner-up to Ousmane Dembele in last year’s Ballon d’Or and now has the opportunity to join the select group of players to have won the World Cup as a teenager. “He is a global icon at the age of 19 and has the chance to do something historic, although we will be doing everything to stop him,” said Messi on Friday. Yamal was injured coming into the World Cup and there were even doubts over whether he would participate at all after he missed the end of the season with Barcelona. “I was afraid it might be serious and, above all, that even if it wasn’t serious, I could suffer a setback and end up missing the World Cup,” Yamal admitted.
World Cup destiny: Messi bathed Yamal as a baby, now they face off for soccer’s top title
BARCELONA: Almost two decades ago, photographer Joan Monfort didn’t think much of his photo shoot of a teenage Lionel Messi bathing a cute baby boy in a plastic bathtub. Not until the remarkable twist of fate became clear years later, when that infant blossomed into Lamine Yamal. Now those images of the longhaired Messi, his hands covered in soap suds as if anointing Yamal as soccer’s Next Big Thing, have become the most talked about — and gawked about — in the runup to Sunday’s World Cup final, when Messi’s Argentina will play Yamal’s Spain for the biggest trophy in the sport. “I have never been a believer or thought that anything was destined to occur, but I am beginning to have my doubts. This is beyond all reasonable explanations,” Monfort told The Associated Press from his home in Barcelona on Friday. Monfort, who works as a freelance photojournalist for the AP, took the photos in 2007 as part of a charity calendar produced by local newspaper Sport and UNICEF. Luck dictated that Yamal’s mother, who appears in the calendar photo, won a raffle of families in the city of Mataró, near Barcelona, who wanted to participate.
Attempted burglary at Yamal’s home after World Cup triumph: police, media
MADRID: Burglars tried to break in to the Barcelona home of Spain star Lamine Yamal on Wednesday, shortly after he helped La Roja reach their second World Cup final, police and media said. “There was an attempted” burglary “at a home in Esplugues de Llobregat” in Barcelona’s outskirts, a spokesperson for Catalan regional police told AFP. The force declined to identify the property’s owner for privacy reasons, but Barcelona-based daily La Vanguardia said the house belonged to the 19-year-old Spain forward. Two people wearing balaclavas climbed onto the house’s wall but were surprised by the private security guards and fled, La Vanguardia reported. The newspaper said Yamal’s house is well known because it once belonged to Barcelona great Gerard Pique and his ex-partner, Colombian music star Shakira, when they lived together in the Catalan capital. Wednesday’s incident occurred early in the morning, moments after Spain completed their 2-0 victory over France in Texas to qualify for the World Cup final. Yamal won a first-half penalty that Mikel Oyarzabal converted to open the scoring. In Madrid, Karim Benzema, Rodrygo and Dani Carvajal are among the football stars to have suffered break-ins at their homes in recent years.
Messi is a win away from photo reunion with Lamine Yamal 19 years in the making
DUBAI: Lionel Messi is one victory away from one of the most remarkable reunions in World Cup history.
Baru 18 Tahun, Lamine Yamal Jadi Tumpuan Spanyol di Pesta Bola Dunia 2026
Lamine Yamal menjalani awal yang cukup menarik di Pesta Bola Dunia 2026 bersama timnas Spanyol. Setelah sempat diragukan tampil karena cedera hamstring yang dialaminya menjelang turnamen, pemain berusia 18 tahun itu akhirnya masuk skuad.
Spain’s Oyarzabal shrugs off soreness, hopes Yamal causes more chaos
TENNESSEE, USA: Spain forward Mikel Oyarzabal has a sore body, a cool head and no appetite for a rest as his side prepare to face Uruguay banking on the mayhem teammate Lamine Yamal can cause at the World Cup. Oyarzabal, who impressed with two goals and an assist for Yamal in Spain’s 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia on Sunday, spoke to the media, three days before their Group H decider against Uruguay and said the discomfort he felt after the game was not enough to make him consider sitting out. “I’m fine, though a bit sore,” Oyarzabal told a press conference on Tuesday. “But everyone has a niggle or two when they’re in a tournament like this.
Video Spanyol Usai Libas Arab Saudi: Analisisnya Positif, Jadi Makin PD
Spanyol vs Arab Saudi berakhir 4-0. Kemenangan Spanyol ini berkat gol dari Lamine Yamal di menit ke-10 serta Mikel Oyarzabal di menit ke-21 dan ke-24.
Lamine Yamal says he’s not fully fit and is unlikely to start in Spain’s second World Cup game
ATLANTA, USA: Lamine Yamal is not feeling 100 percent fit and is not likely to start for Spain in the match against Saudi Arabia on Sunday at the World Cup. Yamal came into the tournament nursing a left hamstring injury and was only a substitute in the team’s opener on Monday — a disappointing 0-0 draw against Cape Verde. “I’m fine, I feel good, but it’s still too soon,” Yamal told Spanish network RTVE. “It’s unnecessary (to take risks).