Soccer phenom Lamine Yamal was on top of the world on Sunday, July 19, as his Spanish national team won the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and his loved ones were on-hand to celebrate with him.
That included his girlfriend, model Inés García Santos, who had a chance to pose with the trophy on the pitch at New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“You did it,” she wrote in Spanish via Instagram, alongside a photo of her clutching the trophy and sitting on Yamal’s lap as the celebration continued around them. “Congratulations my love, you are the champion of the world 🤎.”
Yamal, 19, responded just minutes after Santos, 21, posted the photo.
“Te amo mi amor 🤎,” he wrote, which translates in English to “I love you, my love.”
Spain defeated Argentina, 1-0, on Sunday in the World Cup Final thanks to an extra time goal from sub Ferran Torres, who broke the scoreless tie in the 106th minute. Torres’ heroics gave Spain its second-ever World Cup title after they previously took the crown in 2010.
Though Yamal wasn’t able to find the back of the net himself in Spain’s hard-fought and, at times, frustrating victory, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente expressed his “sincere gratitude” for his young star after the match.
“He has played great football that will help him to mature and be even a greater footballer than he already is,” said de la Fuente, 65, according to the BBC. “He really sacrificed for the collective good. This is very important in my squad. In my opinion he played a great World Cup.”
Yamal was also able to revel in the victory with more than just his teammates and girlfriend. His three-year-old half-brother, Keyne, became a viral sensation among Spanish fans throughout the team’s run, and he joined in the celebration as well.
“It makes me emotional to see my brother happy, my mother… living the life she always dreamed of,” Lamine previously told reporters after Spain defeated Austria, 3-0, in the Round of 32. “In the end that’s what I want, it’s a kid’s biggest dream, beyond soccer and everything else. My brother is everything to me, it’s like he’s my own son and I’m completely in love with him.”
Keyne was seen on the pitch wearing a Spain hat that was so big for him that it covered his eyes, and later donned a police hat he seemed to have “borrowed” from a member of stadium security.
Keyne watched the game from the stands along with the brothers’ mom, Sheila Ebana, his father, one of their cousins and Lamine’s childhood best friend. They all wore Lamine’s red No. 19 jersey.
