Lamine Yamal is one of the stars to watch at the World Cup and he has caught the eye ever since he burst onto the scene at Barcelona and quickly became one of the best players in the world.

The forward is just 18 years old, but is already outplaying some of football’s most established stars for both club and country. Whether it’s with Barca or Spain, he more often than not dominates, further demonstrating why he is one of the best players on the planet.

He was influential in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, and if it wasn’t for him, it’s hard to imagine the Catalan giants would be enjoying a successful era under Hansi Flick. His exploits for his national team have already made him a hero in Spain.

As brilliant as the winger has been, eagle-eyed fans have spotted that it’s not just Spain that he holds a close affinity towards, as the teenager has been spotted sporting boots with two other national flags embroidered on them whenever he represents his country.

Why Yamal Has Two Flags on His Boots

Heiko Becker Via Reuters

Despite Yamal becoming one of Spain’s best attacking talents, it hasn’t stopped him from paying tribute to two other countries he could have represented had he wanted to. As fans have noticed, the star regularly wears boots featuring the flags of Morocco and Equatorial Guinea when he plays international football.

Yamal, born in Catalonia, has parents of Moroccan and Equatorial Guinean descent. His father was born in the North African country, and his mother came from the Central African nation next to Cameroon. As such, the superstar had the opportunity to represent either side at international level, but instead opted to play for his nation of birth.

Despite that, Yamal has not forgotten his roots and is often seen wearing boots displaying both the Moroccan and Equatorial Guinean flags throughout his career. In the past, this was also accompanied by the Spanish flag, but it hasn’t always been the case.

The La Masia academy product hasn’t been quite as prolific during the World Cup as many anticipated. He has registered one goal in four games thus far but has showcased incredible ability whenever on the ball.

There is a chance that Yamal comes up against Morocco in the semi-finals of the World Cup. The two nations are on the same side of the bracket and have been among the strongest teams.

Morocco’s Attempt to Lure Lamine Yamal

The Royal Morrocan Football Federation were especially keen to ensure that the Barcelona man opted to represent them for the rest of his career. In 2023, national team head coach Walid Regragui described the player as being Moroccan but pleaded for calm surrounding the player’s future.

Despite that, Yamal remained steadfast in his decision to represent the three-time European champions. Having already represented the country at under-15 level, the young prodigy made clear his ambitions to move up to the senior squad in an interview with the Spanish national team’s YouTube channel.

Despite that, Moroccan Federation president Fouzi Lekjaa confirmed that a meeting between the two parties had taken place, but to no avail:

Lamine Yamal’s International Career

At just 16-years, one-month and 26 days, Yamal became the youngest ever player to feature for the Spain senior squad in a 7-1 drubbing over Georgia. It was a dream debut for the record-breaker, who also managed to open his goalscoring account less than 30 minutes after being introduced from the bench.

Since then, the teenager has gone on to make 29 senior appearances, scoring seven goals along the way. His impressive form for club and country has seen Yamal become one of Spain’s best current players, and he was pivotal to their European Champions triumph in 2024, when they lifted the trophy for the third time by beating England in the final.

Yamal

Yamal has also played 151 times for Barcelona so far and considering he’s still just 18 years old, the sky is truly the limit for one of the Ballon d’Or favourites. Should he fire La Roja to World Cup glory, he’ll undoubtedly be viewed as one of the all-time greats despite only being in his teenage years.

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and accurate as of 02/07/2026

Tottenham’s bold summer spending has cost one of last season’s most important players his place in the team. Spurs are among the biggest spenders in world football this summer, already committing more than £200million to new signings, and the spending will not end there.

Roberto De Zerbi was promised a big budget, and he is getting exactly that, with Spurs quickly signing Andy Robertson, Marcos Sensesi and Jan Paul van Hecke. They have now added to those signings with the deals to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85million and Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United for £92million.

It is a huge statement from Tottenham, who have rarely dug deep into their pocket, but back-to-back bottom-half finishes appear to have served as a real wake-up call. Fans will be delighted with the investment, but it is not good news for everyone.

Palhinha set to miss out on Tottenham move

via Reuters

Joao Palhinha was a crucial player for Tottenham last season, arriving on loan and proving to be one of the very few bright lights in an otherwise forgettable campaign. The Portugal international battled admirably even during the more difficult times, but Spurs decided not to take up the £26million option to buy they held in the loan deal, which was seen as a very affordable total due to Bayern Munich previously paying £47.4million to sign the midfielder from Fulham.

But according to Tom Barclay and Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham have now decided to move on from Palhinha, opting not to return to Bayern with a fresh approach following their two statement midfield signings.

Romano posted on X: “João Palhinha will not stay at Spurs this summer despite his desire to continue at the club. The decision has been made after Tonali and Mateus Fernandes signings, as @TomBarclay_reports.”

De Zerbi wanted to keep Palhinha

The strange thing about the Palhinha decision is that De Zerbi stated he wanted to sign the midfielder when speaking towards the end of last season. He said: “100%. We have to start from this type of person. We need reliable people as well as reliable players and Palhinha is one of the best. I want to see players with the same attitude, with the same passion, with the same spirit and personality. We are lucky to have Palhinha with us.”

Ultimately, though, the arrivals of Tonali and Fernandes likely push Palhinha out of the team, and Spurs also have Rodrigo Bentancur in the middle, along with Pape Matar Sarr and Conor Gallagher. Given a free choice, Palhinha might have been kept over one of those players, but given he was only on loan, it is a safer option to not sign the Portugal international and avoid being forced to try to sell one of the existing options.

Manchester United have a new goalkeeper target, and it is a familiar face. The Red Devils have a few key needs this summer as they look to build on the momentum built up with their third-place finish last season. Michael Carrick is being given money to spend, and he has made a start with the capture of Ederson, but the search for a Casemiro replacement is proving a frustrating one so far.

United came up short in the race to sign West Ham star Mateus Fernandes, who is to join Tottenham, and that particular search will now go on. But outside of that, Carrick is searching for a versatile attacker and a new back-up goalkeeper.

Onana to leave Man Utd this summer

United are set to offload Andre Onana on a loan deal, with BBC Sport reporting that the stopper is close to joining Turkish club Trabzonspor on a season-long loan deal. They claim the deal is 90% done at this stage, with the former Old Trafford number one going elsewhere for regular football. Onana was signed by United as a number one, costing £47.2million, but while he was capable of top-end saves, he made mistakes too often and showed struggles in reading the game.

Senne Lammens has won the number one spot having proven himself a safe pair of hands, but United will reshuffle the goalkeeping department with a new number two. According to TalkSport, United would prefer a homegrown option, given it satisfies matchday squad rules.

Man Utd work on Johnstone return

Action Images

With that in mind, TalkSport report that United are working on bringing Sam Johnstone back to the club after eight years. The 33-year-old came through at United before leaving in 2018 having never made a Premier League appearance, spending the best part of seven years out on loan.

The 6ft4″ keeper has since spent four years at West Brom’s number one, then making 29 league appearances over two years for Crystal Palace and most recently making 19 league appearances for Wolves since 2024.

The report claims Johnstone is keen to leave Wolves after their relegation from the Premier League, but he is under contract until 2028.

Ability-wise, Johnstone is realistically a bottom-half Premier League goalkeeper, but many clubs are now opting for a big drop-off between their number one and number two to have a clear number one and save money on their alternative. Arsenal, for instance, have carried Kepa as their number two, well aware that the drop from David Raya is a significant one.

Johnstone could go elsewhere and be a starter in all likelihood, especially in the Championship, but he may settle for a back-up spot on the Man Utd bench to return to his home club and enjoy a taste of top-end football. He may also want to give himself a chance of finally landing an Old Trafford Premier League start, which is not out of the question in a long season when injuries and suspensions inevitably happen, even for goalkeepers.