Lamine Yamal made his first World Cup 2026 start for Spain on Sunday against Saudi Arabia, and again used his boots to pay tribute to his family background. After wearing the flags of two countries other than Spain in the previous match against Cape Verde, he chose a similar gesture this time, reflecting the origins of his parents.
The flags on Yamal’s shoes represent Morocco and Equatorial Guinea, the countries his father and mother come from, respectively. The Catalan winger has already played a key role in leading Spain to the European Championship and has represented Spain’s youth teams, but he has also faced some of the country’s most intense racist abuse.
Yamal’s international path had other options. He could have played for any of those national teams, and Morocco even tried to recruit him. Instead, he told them that “he feels Spanish” and decided to play for La Roja.
The article notes that he has now scored in his first World Cup start. The piece was published on June 21, 2026, by Sport 5.
