The fact that Barcelona and Spain forward Lamine Yamal has 100 combined goals and assists for club and country as a teenager is, without using any kind of hyperbole, a little footballing miracle.

At the identical age (18 years and seven months), the two great modern players (one of whom is arguably the best in history), Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, respectively had only five and four goal contributions for club and country. Meanwhile, Yamal is 60 ahead of where Real Madrid and France forward Kylian Mbappé was at the same age.

Just think about that for a second.

This inventive, daring, creative, technically exquisite young lad, from a working-class background, is at least 95 goal contributions ahead of the game’s two behemoths, Messi and Ronaldo, and is increasing the like-for-like gap with each passing week. And he’s doing so while suffering painfully for months from the type of groin injury which should either be drastically restricting his development, or leaving him on the sidelines — as it has done with Nico Williams at Athletic Club.

But, no, right now Yamal is proving immune to pain, immune to Messi/Ronaldo comparisons, immune to the potentially corruptive impact of huge wealth and trophy success as a teenager.

Even if you set the stats aside, we’ve learned several inarguable things about Yamal already; firstly, that he possesses the same inherent, ferocious, indomitable competitive aggression which fed, and still feeds, Messi.

Without in any way deprecating Ronaldo — because his will to win and competitive aggression are both elite — there is something in his personality, something about his ego, which means he wants to be regarded individually as the best. I’ve been in his presence when he has said exactly that.

But neither Messi nor Yamal are as driven by that individualistic, egotistic compartment of human nature. For them, the constant demand is: “Give me the ball, give me an opponent, let me thrill, let me beat him, let me score or assist and let us win.”

“Us” … that’s the key.

That we are watching a close facsimile of Messi, who is already outstripping pound-for-pound comparative numbers, is, legitimately something of a miracle. You don’t have to be a Barcelona fan or follow Spanish football in order to feel genuinely touched by the privilege of witnessing another genius emerge so soon after Messi.

Indisputably, we live in a world of strife, jeopardy and uncertainty. It’s not an opiate to look for something that is joyous, something that is natural, pure, inspirational and which gives us a dose of happiness even if it’s only for 90 minutes each time he plays. It’s human nature.

The dazzling hat trick Yamal scored on Saturday at home to Villarreal, the first of his career, again highlights the chasm between him and his two almighty forebears at the same age. Yamal is over a year younger than when Messi achieved the same feat against Real Madrid in March 2007 and over four years quicker than Ronaldo when he registered his aged nearly 23 for Manchester United against Newcastle in 2008.

But this wasn’t just his debut treble, these were three goals of increasingly astonishing wonder.

For many, the pick of them was the second, where Yamal started in a position of apparently no threat and danced like a footballing Rudolf Nureyev past all his opponents before his left foot thrashed the ball beyond goalkeeper Luis Reis Junior. But for my taste, the third goal was the most eye-catching one; the timing of his run, his decision-making and his cleverness in finishing, not just through power alone, stood out.

Yamal’s “street-football” style of dribbling, playing “inside” and not on the touchline, while also acting like an outright striker, are some of the things which will elevate him onto the all-time pantheon of greats if he continues to develop this way. If he can add top-level acuity in the penalty box — showing more of a finisher’s touch — then we potentially have another all-time great on our hands.

But of course there are obstacles to overcome.

If he is a little footballing miracle, as I swear to you he is, then that’s precisely what Barcelona require on Tuesday to somehow overturn a four-goal deficit in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal at Camp Nou.

Yes, we all know that Barcelona have the most astonishing result in European football history — having been 4-0 down to Paris before coming back to win 6-1 in the Champions League in 2017 — and maybe it’s coincidence that the heroes of that night were Yamal’s two all-time heroes, Messi and Neymar. But that was an historic achievement that stood out so much because these things do not happen often.

The last time Barcelona and Atleti met in the Catalan capital in the Copa del Rey, Barcelona scored four times alright … but they also conceded four.

So far, Yamal’s record against Atleti is good, without being scintillating: Seven matches, five wins, one draw, one defeat, but only one goal.

The glaringly obvious truth is that while they will need to be a team performance of extraordinary power and discipline in order even to force their way back into the tie on Tuesday, Barça will undoubtedly require some miraculous provision of manna from heaven.

And while midfielder Pedri has some of that in his mind, and his boots, the main provider is Yamal.

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Is there too much pressure on Lamine Yamal?

The ‘FC TV’ crew debate if there’s too much pressure on Lamine Yamal at 18 years of age.

But his club asks a monstrous amount of him. Despite this being a season where he has had to cope with an injury, and where rivals have double- and triple-marked him, his contribution across all competitions has been 32 goals or assists in 34 matches.

That is simply astonishing.

But after the match against Villarreal he admitted: “Over the last few months I haven’t been enjoying myself as much, the groin pain was part of that, I think all that was pretty evident. But for about a week now there’s been a click — things feel better and I’ve got the urge to smile again while I’m playing, which is something I’d lost for a while!”

By now I’ve interviewed Yamal five or six times — on two occasions good, lengthy, interesting conversations — and this is what those meetings taught me:

In general, he’s tough-minded, extremely smart and aware of the talent, responsibility and opportunity which has landed on his doorstep. I honestly think that a large part of his extraordinary makeup is how well his sharp, well-ordered mind — which is mature beyond his age in footballing terms — intersects with his natural talent.

But, in some matters he’s still a kid who dotes on his younger brother and who went to be smothered by hugs and kisses from his mum on the touchline postmatch against Villarreal.

One of the first things he revealed to me two years ago was that when he was four or five and put in goal by his dad and uncles during their Rocafonda park games, he felt that they deliberately treated him like an equal and unforgivingly booted shots which hit him in the face. He said that, there and then, he resolved to speed up his development and ability to play outfield so that the next sucker who joined their regular game would have to go in goal instead.

Flinty tough: don’t complain, win.

The fact that Barcelona depend on him to play miraculously on Tuesday against Atletico is fine: he’s ready, willing and able. The fact that Barça have needed him to carry them every week since August to the point that, at 18, he wasn’t happy, or taking joy in his job, isn’t.

I hope someone in their system was taking note: Yamal isn’t theirs alone, he belongs to everyone around the world who looks to football to inspire them. He gives us thrills, joy and hope. And that is a precious thing indeed.

Cristo Fernández, beloved by fans the world over for his role as Dani Rojas in the hit television show Ted Lasso, looks set to make his soccer dreams leap from the silver screen to reality as he trials with USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive FC.

Goal has reported that Fernández, 35, logged half-an-hour for Locomotive in their win against New Mexico United over the weekend, with the Junior Gonzalez-coached side set to determine if they will sign the actor-turned-soccer player to a contract in the coming week.

And it’s seemingly not the first club that Fernández has looked to land with ahead of the coming season, with MIR97 Media subsequently reporting that he had also logged time with Chicago Fire II a few weeks ago and even scored in a win over USL League One outfit Forward Madison FC.

There was no word on if he took a penalty in either game — nor if there were any greyhounds attempting to cross the pitch when he did so — but in the video below (just click to the right!) you can clearly see Fernández celebrating El Paso’s win with his teammates.

An avid soccer fan who is can often be found attending professional matches, Fernández’s attempt to land with El Paso don’t so much represent a new path so much as a return to the old one. A promising player in his youth, Fernández suffered a serious knee injury with hometown side Tecos Fútbol Club when he was 15 years old, and subsequently turned to acting at university.

Soccer players stepping onto the screen, of course, isn’t exactly a new phenomena; the likes of Vinnie Jones and the incomparable Eric Cantona amongst those who traded their boots for the bright lights of Hollywood. The reverse path isn’t as common but not unheard of, either, with Sean Connery playing for Bonnyrigg Rose as a youngster and, according to legend, offered a contract Sir Matt Busby after impressing in a kickabout against a side the legendary Manchester United boss happened to be scouting.

The Iranian women’s national soccer team made quite the statement on Monday night during the opening match of the Women’s Asian Cup, as they refused to sing while their national anthem played over the speakers at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast. 

The players were in their customary line before their match against South Korea, when the Iranian national anthem began to play. The women, looking straight ahead and barely moving, were stoic as it appeared there were jeers from the crowd. Later, applause erupted from those in attendance following the 3-0 South Korea victory.

Iran’s manager, Marziyeh Jafari, was also seen smiling as she looked upon her players’ silence from the sidelines. 

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This silence is particularly deafening following the confirmed U.S.-Israeli strikes over the weekend that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has since counterattacked by firing missiles and drones at Israel and regional countries that host U.S. allies or military bases, including Bahrain and Qatar. 

During questioning by media on Sunday, Iran women’s national team captain Zahra Ghanbari, alongside Jafari, was asked about Khamenei’s death. The question was shot down quickly. 

Jafari answered in Farsi, but an AFC media representative cut off her response without any translation, according to ESPN. 

“OK, I think that’s all for your question. Thank you for asking. Let’s just focus on the game itself,” the media rep said before questioning continued. 

While the content of Jafari’s response remains unknown, the team’s stoic nature during the national anthem, which is usually met by at least some players singing, says enough. 

The U.S. and Israel’s massive joint military operation, known as “Operation Epic Fury,” left many of Iran’s major leaders dead, including Khamenei. President Donald Trump warned on Sunday against any Iranian retaliation, saying if Iran were to “hit very hard,” they would be met with “a force that has never been seen before.”

The attacks have impacted the sports world as well as the rest of the country; the football federation’s president shared a bleak outlook about playing in this year’s FIFA World Cup. Iran has already qualified for the tournament and is set to face New Zealand in Los Angeles in June to kick off its Group G schedule.

 of Islamic Republic of Iran walks out for the start of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 match between Korea Republic v Islamic Republic of Iran at Gold Coast Stadium on March 2, 2026 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Albert Perez/Getty Images)

“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” football president Mehdi Taj told sports portal Varzesh3 on Sunday. 

“The US regime has attacked our homeland, and this is an incident that will not go unanswered.”

FIFA also noted it will be monitoring the situation with Iran. 

Iran’s national team will not be preparing for the World Cup at this time, as a 40-day mourning period following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is in effect. However, the women’s national team was allowed to compete in the Asian Cup.

Elsewhere in the sports world, Fox News Digital learned that Israel’s national gymnastics team suspended all training and team activities amid the counterattack, with the Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) providing a statement announcing that the violence has caused “unavoidable disruptions.”

“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ professional plans, particularly as we are at the outset of the international season,” the statement read.

Team Iran poses for a group photo before the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 match against South Korea in Gold Coast on March 2, 2026. (Izhar Khan / AFP)

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A source within the team also told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began. 

Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday, when a missile barrage landed just miles from Jerusalem in Beit Shemesh. 

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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