Rocafonda embraces Yamal before final against Messi's Argentina

BARCELONA: In Rocafonda, the working-class and multi-ethnic neighbourhood near Barcelona where Lamine Yamal spent his early years, residents gathered on Thursday with a sense of pride ahead of Spain's World Cup final against Lionel Messi's Argentina in New Jersey.

The local pitch where the Spain forward developed his game was busy as children from migrant families played beneath a mural bearing Yamal's image. Nearby, members of his family watched from a bench, including his grandmother, Fatima Nasraoui, and his 15-year-old cousin Rayan.

Ahead of Sunday's final, locals reflected on the significance of the match, which will pit Yamal against a player he has long admired. Messi, 39, enjoyed the best years of his career at Barcelona after rising through the club's youth system, and a widely shared photograph of the Argentine with Yamal as a baby has drawn renewed attention before the final.

An 18-year-old Senegalese resident, Keba, spoke of the moment Yamal and Messi are now set to share on football's biggest stage.

"Now that the moment has come when the two of them are going to play against each other, it’s incredible,"

His grandmother also backed Spain to lift the trophy and said she would celebrate loudly if Yamal scored.

"I want Spain to win,"

She added:

"To me, Lamine means many good things, but above all, he’s like a brother because we grew up together,"

Roots still central to Yamal's identity

Yamal was born in Spain to a Moroccan father and a mother from Equatorial Guinea. He has continued to acknowledge Rocafonda as his home, most visibly through his '304' hand gesture after goals, a reference to the neighbourhood's postal code.

During the World Cup, he has also worn a headband carrying the name Rocafonda and used boots featuring the flags of his parents' countries of origin. He has also said that football represented an example of racial and social integration.

For residents in the neighbourhood, the final has become more than a football occasion, with Yamal's rise seen as a source of recognition for the community where he learned the game.