In Spanish football, Niko Williams and Lamin Jamal are like two brothers.
The former turned 22 on Friday; the second on Saturday the 17th.
Both came from migrant families from Africa.
They came into their own as footballers who bring victories to Spain.
The two players will be under the watchful eye of the public during the Euro 2024 final against England on Sunday.
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The two strikers shone in the 4-1 quarter-final win against Georgia and again in the semi-final, when Lamin scored a historic goal in a 2-1 win over France, becoming the youngest player to score at the European Championships.
Their connection on the field is crucial to the success of Spain, who are eager to win a fourth continental title.
Off the field, they are great friends and can be seen on TikTok performing fun choreography.
In addition to being inseparable, they are also symbols of a country transformed by the migrations of the past decades.
"They are a source of pride for Spain, a positive paradigm of the new Spain," Professor Mozes Ruiz, an expert on leadership and communication at the European University, told BBC Mundo.
"They are two young Spaniards with a family history of struggle and adversity. They are two role models in terms of modesty and talent," says Ruiz.
But what is the story of these players and how did they become superstars?
Bolji zhivot
Niko and his older brother, Athletic Bilbao footballer Ignacy Williams, were born and raised in Spain.
His life story is about hope, migration, suffering, hard work, determination and solidarity.
Maria, their mother, was pregnant with Injaki when she left Ghana in 1994 with her husband Felix, in search of a better life in Europe.
In the end, they walked most of the way, which included crossing the Sahara.
The two reached the Spanish territory of Melilla by jumping over the border fence, Iñaki himself explained to the Spanish media.
"They were advised to say they were fleeing the war-torn territory and they said they came from Liberia. For many years I thought they were from there. At that time I was a Claretian (Catholic missionary) and I belonged to the Caritas group for the care of migrants," Injaki Mardones Aha tells BBC Mundo.
The then priest, now a layman who works for the Catholic religious service at the Marques De Valencia Hospital in Santander (northern Spain), says that at that time the government organized the transfer of immigrants from Melilla to different parts of Spain.
"Niko's parents came to Bilbao through Caritas from Bilbao. Because I knew English, they asked me to be in that group."
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"Honor"
On one occasion, he went to visit them to see how they were doing when Maria, who was pregnant, told him that she felt some discomfort.
Mardones missed class and took Maria and Felix to the hospital.
Soon a boy was born and he was named Injaki.
"When you are asked if they can name a child that will be born after you, it is always a huge gift, a great honor, and then when that child achieves what they have achieved, it is also an extraordinary thing."
"To tell us apart, my mother called us: 'Little Injaki, big Injaki.' And then when I was with them last year, I told them that now it's the other way around: 'Injaki is a great player,'" he says, laughing.
The youngest Williams, Nicholas Williams Arthur, was born in 2002 in Pamplona, eight years after his brother.
"I will always appreciate what my father and mother did for us: they are fighters, they instilled in us respect, hard work, every day, even when nobody gives you anything," Niko said in interviews with Spanish media.
"The truth is that I am very proud to have them as parents and I try to do everything I can to make them proud to have me as a son."
Brotherhood as proof of everything
Without good opportunities to support his family, Felix moved to London - where he worked clearing tables.
He also worked as a security guard, among other things at the gates of the Chelsea stadium.
While he was away from home for ten years - Injaki became a father figure to Niko.
Maria took on three jobs at the same time in order to support her family.
The older brother would pick Nick up from school and give him something to eat.
He told him how to behave if he wanted to succeed as a top athlete.
"For me, he is a role model, he is everything to me," says Niko about Ignacio.
"It helped my parents and me that we could eat, that we could go to classes, that we had something to wear."
"We get along well. He's my brother, but he also treats me a bit like a father."
Both became footballers on April 28, 2021, after the brothers came on as substitutes in the match between Athletic Bilbao and Real Valladolid (2:2).
Unlike Niko, Injaki does not play for Spain as he chose to play for the Ghanaian team out of respect for his roots in the West African country.
Lamin, child prodigy
Lamin Jamal's parents also emigrated from Africa.
His father, Munir Nasrui, was born in Morocco, while his mother, Sheila Ebana, is from Equatorial Guinea.
The two settled on the outskirts of Barcelona.
"I knew he was going to be a star the moment he was born," Nasrui proudly told reporters ahead of Sunday's Euro final.
When he was still a baby, Lamin met one of the biggest names in world football, Lionel Messi.
The Argentine star was barely 20 years old and participated in a UNICEF charity campaign.
Messi posed with baby, Lamin Jamal, at Barcelona's stadium.
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"It's a coincidence in your life. Or a blessing from Lamin Leo, I really don't know," jokes Lamin's father.
It was in Rocafonda, a working-class neighborhood far from the tourism of Barcelona, where the football history of this young star began.
He started playing on a concrete court.
"He always went to the sports center to play, with everyone, with children of 7, or 15, 17 and 18 years old. And yes, he matured before others and I'm proud of not everyone who contributed to that," says his father.
A bright future
Seeing his talent, Barcelona tested him and he was accepted at La Masia, Barca's football school where Messi also trained as a footballer, and where he received a dormitory, food, education and football development.
Records fell one after another.
He became Barcelona's youngest player, at 15 years and 290 days.
At 16 years and 57 days, he became the youngest player and goal scorer in Spain.
And at this European Championship, he was the youngest player to score a goal in the history of the competition.
And despite the fame, there is always a dedication to the Rocafond neighborhood in his celebrations, pointing fingers at the number 304, the place's zip code - an indication that Jamal is proud of his roots.
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Like brothers
In this generation of the Spanish team, Nico has found a new kindred spirit in Lamin, whom he treats like an older brother, the way Ignacio treats him.
"It's a great image for Spain to have two young footballers who are smiling, who are happy and who convey the right values, which today is almost as important as playing well," the director of the Spanish newspaper Sport, Joan Vehils, told BBC Mundo.
Everything they do has become a phenomenon.
Their dances, which they perform to celebrate goals for the Red Fury, have gone viral on social media.
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Their friendship dates back to when they met during their first call-up for the national team in March, ahead of Spain's friendlies against Colombia and Brazil, when coach Luis de la Fuente asked Nico to look after young Lamin Jamal.
Niko agreed to mentor the 16-year-old.
It reminds many of Niko's relationship with his brother Ignacio.
Although for him it is something more: "I already told Jamal that he has to learn from his 'father', which is me," Niko jokes.
For Iñaki Mardones, "both Niko's and Jamal's story are an inspiration to many who had to look for a new life and managed to progress. For many, they are sports and life role models."
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