Lamine Yamal is one of soccer’s rising superstars after helping his team take home the 2024 UEFA European Championship victory. Spain beat England 2-1 in the final on July 14, marking a significant milestone for the country.
Yamal, who was 16 throughout most of the tournament, celebrated his 17th birthday the day before the final. Not only did he make history by becoming the youngest player to appear at the Euro, he is also the youngest to score in the tournament and the youngest to play in a final.
“This is the best (birthday) gift I could have asked for. It’s a dream come true,” Yamal said, according to the Associated Press. “It got tough when they tied the score, but I don’t know what this team is made of because we always fight back.”
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Yamal garnered international recognition after he scored an equalizer goal against France in the semi-finals on July 9.
“I don’t know if it’s the best goal of the tournament, but it’s the most special goal for me because it is my first goal with the team at a European Championship,” he told reporters at a post-game press conference, according to the AP.
Yamal was raised in Mataro, a town in the Spanish region of Catalonia. His father, Mounir Nasraoui, immigrated to Spain from Morocco and his mother, Sheila Ebana, immigrated from Equatorial Guinea, according to The Athletic.
“I knew about my son when he was born, I knew he was going to be a star. Whoever is a father knows it, and any father wants his child to be the best,” his father told the Spanish publication Marca, per The Mirror. “He is a child and he has a blessing from God, which is very important and must be valued.”
On July 4, Nasraoui posted a now-viral photograph of his son as an infant posing alongside Lionel Messi.
“The beginning of two legends,” he captioned the post.
The photograph was snapped after Yamal’s family won a UNICEF- and Diario Sport-organized raffle, which allowed them to meet and take pictures with players from FC Barcelona, according to the AP.
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Today, Yamal is following in the footsteps of Messi. He’s a right winger for FC Barcelona and received a spot on the team after a stint at the club’s La Masia training academy.
