{"id":13879,"date":"2026-06-10T16:51:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T16:51:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879"},"modified":"2026-06-10T16:51:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T16:51:55","slug":"world-cup-legends-intersect-as-torch-is-prepared-to-be-passed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879","title":{"rendered":"World Cup: Legends intersect as torch is prepared to be passed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In the fall of 2007, Lionel Messi, then 20 and already one of the biggest, if not the biggest, star in the world\u2019s biggest sport, walked into the visitors\u2019 locker room at Camp Nou, FC Barcelona\u2019s cathedral of a stadium, for a photo shoot to find a mother and her 3-month-old son in a small plastic bathing tub waiting for him.<\/p>\n

Read more 12 tidbits to know before the 23rd men\u2019s World Cup, plus what to call all 48 teams<\/a><\/p>\n

Sheila Ebana and her husband Mounir Nasraoui had earlier entered a raffle sponsored by a Spanish sports newspaper. The winners would get their photo taken alongside a Barca star for a charity calendar benefiting UNICEF. The couple was selected. So here were Ebana and her baby, Lamine Yamal.<\/p>\n

With a tentativeness that he never displayed on the pitch, Messi held Yamal upright in the tub before eventually taking him in his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beginning of two legends,\u201d Nasraoui wrote in a caption of a photo from the session he posted on social media.<\/p>\n

Those legends intersect again at this summer\u2019s World Cup, Messi passing the torch to the teenage sensation he once cradled.<\/p>\n

Through this World Cup, its scale and excesses unmatched, through the genius and the greed, runs a common thread connecting the dots of the largest and most lucrative sporting event in the planet\u2019s history: the unmistakable transitional nature and importance of this moment, the seismic shift in how the tournament is presented, bought and sold, the conditions in which it is played, and the launching of the sport\u2019s next generational star, a player who can lead the game out of the long shadow cast by Argentina\u2019s Messi, 38, and Portugal\u2019s Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, over most of the last 20 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not want to be the next Messi,\u201d said Yamal, the now 18-year-old superstar for Barca and Spain, the reigning European champion and World Cup favorite. \u201cI want to be myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

This World Cup, like Yamal\u2019s sentiments, reflects FIFA\u2019s determination to chart a new course and, as its critics charge, a disregard for the sport\u2019s past and its millions of fans.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Mexico and South Africa at Mexico City\u2019s Estadio Azteca on Thursday opens the 48-team, 104-match tournament played out over the course of 37 days in 16 North American cities, 11 in the U.S., that will feature the most teams, matches and fans in the World Cup\u2019s 96-year history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe greatest event that humanity has ever seen,\u201d FIFA president Gianni Infantino said.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the tournament is an 11-figure reminder of the cultural and entertainment power of the World Cup that has no equal on the planet. It is also a World Cup that is a reflection of the time and place in which it is held. The tournament\u2019s July 19 final will take place at New Jersey\u2019s MetLife Stadium, 10 miles from an ICE detention center that has seen continued and at times violent confrontations between protesters and law enforcement.<\/p>\n

The tournament, according to Adam Beissel, a sports leadership and management professor at Miami (Ohio) University, will have \u201ctwo legacies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe first one being just the massive commercial windfall for FIFA, ushering it into an entirely new era,\u201d Beissel continued. \u201cThese events, they\u2019ve always been commercially oriented for a number of years but not to the extent that they have been here. So that is the first legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe second legacy is going to be creating a really pivotal moment within global geopolitics, particularly with the continued ascendancy of China, countries in the Middle East, (and) really what we might call the breakdown of the post-World War II consensus of global multilateralism and a unified west. And I think this will be a pivotal time politically, and we might look back at this event and always link to the Trump administration and the ongoing domestic and international policy agenda of his administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we look back at all of sport megaevents, Olympic Games, World Cups, they always leave a legacy of that particular moment and I believe the political moment right now is certainly going to be one of those lasting legacies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another will be that this tournament will mark the final World Cup chapter in the careers of this century\u2019s two greatest players, perhaps the greatest of any century, certainly since Diego Maradona, the tortured Argentine genius. Messi willed Argentina to victory in the 2022 World Cup, won four UEFA Champions League titles with Barcelona and was honored a record eight times with the Ballon d\u2019Or, given to the world\u2019s top player each year. Ronaldo won four Champions League crowns with Real Madrid, another with Manchester United, as well as leading Portugal to the 2016 European Championships title and claiming five Ballon d\u2019Ors. During a 10-year-period, between 2008 and 2017, only Messi and Ronaldo finished in the top two spots in the Ballon d\u2019Or voting.<\/p>\n

Ronaldo has 665 million followers on Instagram, more than any other human, twice as many as Taylor Swift (273 million) or more than Swift and Beyonce (300 million) combined. Messi has the world\u2019s second most followers (506 million).<\/p>\n

In combining that cultural currency with what one World Cup bid executive described as \u201cthe biggest soccer market in the world,\u201d the U.S., Infantino and FIFA have created a mega event that already shattered tournament records weeks before the first ball was kicked.<\/p>\n

The first World Cup held in three nations \u2013 the U.S., Canada and Mexico \u2013 will generate $13 billion in revenue for FIFA, according to the most recent projections, nearly twice the figure for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar ($7.5 billion) and more than double the 2024 Paris Olympic Games\u2019 $5.24 billion in revenue. The 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles are projected to generate as much as $7.15 billion in revenue. The 2026 Super Bowl generated between $500 and $600-million in direct revenue for the NFL.<\/p>\n

FIFA, despite widespread complaints of price gauging and fraudulent sales practices that have prompted investigations by the New York and New Jersey attorney general offices, has already sold 5 million tickets, eclipsing the World Cup record of 3.59 million tickets sold for the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Dynamic pricing, the two most annoying words to soccer fans after \u201cAlexi Lalas,\u201d has also driven ticket prices to record highs. A front row seat for the tournament\u2019s final will cost you $32,970.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices, however, aren\u2019t the only eye-popping numbers FIFA is putting up.<\/p>\n

Both FIFA\u2019s sponsorship and broadcast revenue streams are up roughly $1 billion from the 2022 World Cup, sponsorship climbing to $2.8 billion from $1.8 billion, broadcasting at $4.3 billion, up from $3.4 billion four years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ignore the noise and the politics then the work done by FIFA\u2019s commercial team is very impressive,\u201d Ricardo Fort, a sponsorship consultant involved in FIFA\u2019s sponsorship deals with Coca-Cola and Visa, recently told reporters.<\/p>\n

Critics charge that\u2019s exactly what FIFA has done by choosing not to hold the Trump administration to written assurances President Trump provided to FIFA guaranteeing freedom of entry and agreeing to the organization\u2019s human rights and sustainability requirements before the U.S., Canada and Mexico were named tournament hosts in June 2018. Neither has Infantino\u2019s at times cringeworthy \u201cBromance\u201d with Trump deterred the American president.<\/p>\n

Infantino was invited to Trump\u2019s inauguration ceremony. In turn, the FIFA president invited Trump to hand out medals to the winning players at the summer\u2019s FIFA World Club Cup final. FIFA opened an office in Trump Tower in New York City over the summer. FIFA also switched December\u2019s World Cup draw from the Sphere in Las Vegas to the Kennedy Center in Washington, during which Infantino awarded Trump with a FIFA peace prize that Infantino had created for the U.S. president who has made his desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize no secret.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much money riding on this that at the end of the day Infantino and FIFA don\u2019t want to bite the hand that feeds them,\u201d Beissel said. \u201cMoney talks as it always has within FIFA and I expect this World Cup to be no different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has threatened to halt customs processing at airports where state and local governments resist the administration\u2019s immigration policies.<\/p>\n

A Swiss player, a World Cup referee from Somalia, foreign journalists, federation leaders and team staff members for tournament participants have either had visa applications delayed or rejected by U.S. officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe denial of visas for journalists from certain countries, or the rejection of a visa for a coach of a team, as well as single-day visas for specific foreign national teams, this is anathema to what this tournament is supposed to be about,\u201d New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

The U.S. and Israel\u2019s war with Iran has also impacted the tournament. On March 12, two weeks after the initial Israeli and U.S. attacks, Trump said Iran should skip playing in the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don\u2019t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,\u201d Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.<\/p>\n

Trump later claimed that the World Cup will be \u201cthe Greatest and Safest Sporting Event in American History.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran did move its pre-World Cup training camp from Arizona to Tijuana. Iran opens play in Group G against New Zealand on Monday at SoFi Stadium. If Iran and the U.S. both finish in second in their first-round groups they would meet in a Round of 32 game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, July 3.<\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday said the Iranian team will be allowed in the U.S. the day before its World Cup matches, contradicting a statement by Iran\u2019s ambassador to Mexico that the team would only be allowed to enter the country on the days of games. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has also said the U.S. \u201cdoesn\u2019t want the Iranian national team to stay overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more After troubled World Cup lead-in, UN human rights chief urges \u2018rethink\u2019 of US immigration policy<\/a><\/p>\n

The Iranian soccer federation has charged the U.S. State Department and DHS officials with \u201cvindictive behavior\u201d preventing \u201ckey managerial and administrative members\u201d into the U.S.<\/p>\n

The State Department in a statement over the weekend said \u201cthe visas necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup, including for athletes and necessary support staff, have been issued,\u201d adding that, \u201cWe will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Infantino, the provider of peace prizes, has tried his own hand at diplomacy. At the FIFA Congress, the organization\u2019s annual meetings, in Vancouver in April, Infantino tried and failed to stage a symbolic handshake between Israeli Football Association representatives and Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub. Rajoub refused the entreaty, much to the frustration and embarrassment of Infantino.<\/p>\n

Yamal, who is Muslim, was criticized by top Israeli government officials after he waved a Palestinian flag atop an open-air bus during a parade last month celebrating Barcelona\u2019s La Liga title.<\/p>\n

Among the norms and conventional wisdom FIFA and this tournament have undercut is the Benjamin Franklin quote, \u201cIn this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

FIFA listed $6.14 billion in assets in a filing with the Internal Revenue Service for the fiscal year ending in December 2024 yet has had tax-exempt status in the U.S. since June 1994.<\/p>\n

This tournament is so watered down because of FIFA\u2019s decision to expand the field from 32 to 48 teams that this will be the first World Cup not to have an opening round Group of Death.<\/p>\n

Sweden booked its World Cup ticket despite not winning a single match in qualifying. Twenty teams, nearly half the field, didn\u2019t qualify for the 2022 World Cup.<\/p>\n

Fifteen of those nations have missed the last three tournaments, 12 the past four World Cups. Four countries are making their World Cup debuts, including Curacao, population 155,000, the smallest nation ever to reach the tournament.<\/p>\n

Ronaldo\u2019s Portugal face three sides in Group K that didn\u2019t qualify for the 2022 World Cup, including Uzbekistan, playing in its first ever tournament, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which hasn\u2019t been to a World Cup since 1974 when it was Zaire and it failed to score in its three first-round losses, including a 9-0 blowout by Yugoslavia.<\/p>\n

The tournament will still feature a series of old themes:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Can Team USA actually reach the quarterfinals, something it has done only once (2002)?<\/p>\n

The Americans are favored to win Group D that also includes Australia, Turkey and Paraguay, who the U.S. meets at SoFi Friday (6 p.m.). But the U.S. has question marks in goal and about the form of forward Christian Pulisic, the face of American soccer. Pulisic\u2019s goal in a pre-tournament friendly with Senegal on May 31 marked the first time the AC Milan striker had found the back of the net since December 28.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow maybe we can stop talking about it,\u201d Pulisic said.<\/p>\n

Pulisic & Co. could have a chance to silence their critics with a likely Round of 16 showdown with Belgium, which knocked the Americans out of the 2014 World Cup in the second round. That is if the U.S. can get a possible Round of 32 matchup with co-host Canada. Team Canada has won its last two matches with the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Will the third time be the charm for Mexico\u2019s Javier Aguirre?<\/p>\n

The charismatic Aguirre is back to lead El Tri to a third World Cup. Mexico opens the tournament on an eight-match winning streak and if it continues that streak through Group A, it will have the significant advantage of playing its next two matches in the furnace that is Estadio Azteca, 7,200 feet above sea-level.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Is it finally coming home?<\/p>\n

England scored 22 goals while conceding none in winning all eight of its World Cup qualifying matches. Three Lions are led by the most lethal striker in the game Harry Kane. Kane, during the 2025-26 season, scored 36 goals for Bayern Munich in 31 Bundesliga matches, 14 in 13 UEFA Champions League games, a total of 60 goals for the club plus another nine for England.<\/p>\n

The question is, can German manager Thomas Tuchel, who coached Chelsea to a Champions League crown, lead England past the ghosts of 40 years of World Cup heartbreak and the disappointment of losing the last two European Championship finals?<\/p>\n

In addition to Kane, a big reason for England\u2019s optimism is Jude Bellingham, the 22-year-old Real Madrid midfield maestro and one of the best players in a generation that also includes France\u2019s Kylian Mbappe, hero of Les Bleus\u2019 2018 World Cup triumph, Norway forward Erling Haaland, and Brazil striker Vinicius Junior, Belligham and Mbappe\u2019s Real Madrid\u2019s teammate.<\/p>\n

Mbappe, 27, scored a hat-trick in France\u2019s loss to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final, claiming the tournament\u2019s Golden Boot with eight goals, and is only four goals behind Germany\u2019s Miroslav Klose on the World Cup all-time scoring list.<\/p>\n

Manchester City\u2019s pony-tailed striker Haaland, 25, scored 16 goals in World Cup qualifying, twice as many as any other in the European qualifying groups.<\/p>\n

But the most intriguing player in the post-Messi and Ronaldo generation is Yamal, whose otherworldly talents and sense and anticipation of the game are matched only by his charisma and imagination.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaradona, Messi\u2026 Lamine Yamal,\u201d said Lothar Matth\u00e4us, the star of Germany\u2019s 1990 World Cup winning side.<\/p>\n

Like Maradona and Messi before him, Yamal wears the No. 10 jersey for Barca, the best-selling jersey on the planet, fans buying 1.32 million shirts last year.<\/p>\n

And like the Argentines, Yamal caught the world\u2019s attention as a boy wonder.<\/p>\n

Yamal doesn\u2019t turn 19 until after the World Cup quarterfinals, making him eight years younger than Mbappe, the game\u2019s last teenage sensation.<\/p>\n

\u201cArguably the best teenage star ever,\u201d FourFourTwo, the venerable British magazine, recently suggested.<\/p>\n

Yamal, born 45 minutes north of Barcelona and named by his Moroccan-born father and Equatorial Guinea mother for two friends who helped the family through tough financial times, made his La Liga debut at 15 years and 291 days. At 17 years and 1 day, he led Spain to the European Championship title, assisting on the first goal in the final against England, capping his record shattering Euro in which he became the youngest player in the tournament\u2019s history, the youngest to score, the youngest to be on the tournament winning side, tied the tournament assist record and was also credited with the \u201cGoal of the Tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

The goal was a breathtaking example of Yamal\u2019s ability to create space, to read the game and his imagination and daring. With France up 1-0 in the 21st minute, a teammate laid off the ball to Yamal about 30 meters from goal on the right side of the pitch. He juked right, sending three French defenders the same way, cut back to his left and then unleashed a curling missile through four French players into the top right corner of the goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen the genius of a genius,\u201d said Luis de la Fuente, the Spanish national team coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had a football club and enough money, I would sign Lamine Yamal first,\u201d said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.<\/p>\n

Paris Saint-Germain, winner of the last two UEFA Champions League titles, tried offering Barca what would have been a world record-shattering $263 million transfer fee for him. Barcelona responded by signing Yamal to a contract worth $30 million within days of his 18th birthday. He will earn at least that much through deals with adidas Coca-Cola and McDonalds.<\/p>\n

\u201cLamine Yamal is the best young player in the world,\u201d Ceferin said. \u201cHe could be the best in a few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or a few weeks.<\/p>\n

Who better to rule a World Cup so unlike any other, to lead the beautiful game into its next era, than a player touched by the gods, inspired by dreamers yet determined not to chase their footsteps but chart his own course?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s best not to compare yourself to anyone,\u201d Yamal said. \u201cPlayers like Cristiano Ronaldo did what they did because they wanted to be themselves and not compare themselves to others. I want to build my own path.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Can a new-look Chargers offensive line better protect Justin Herbert?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an event being held on unmatched scale, Lionel Messi may hand off the role of the game’s biggest star to Lamine Yamal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"yoast_head":"\nWorld Cup: Legends intersect as torch is prepared to be passed - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Cup: Legends intersect as torch is prepared to be passed - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In an event being held on unmatched scale, Lionel Messi may hand off the role of the game's biggest star to Lamine Yamal.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-10T16:51:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"15 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"World Cup: Legends intersect as torch is prepared to be passed\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-10T16:51:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879\"},\"wordCount\":3072,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/882593e45477e4c796408d0f918d8cbf.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Soccer\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879\",\"name\":\"World Cup: Legends intersect as torch is prepared to be passed - Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/882593e45477e4c796408d0f918d8cbf.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-10T16:51:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/882593e45477e4c796408d0f918d8cbf.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/882593e45477e4c796408d0f918d8cbf.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":688},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13879#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"World Cup: Legends intersect as torch is prepared to be passed\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"World Cup: Legends intersect as torch is prepared to be passed - Silicon Valley Moving Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"World Cup: Legends intersect as torch is prepared to be passed - Silicon Valley Moving Post","og_description":"In an event being held on unmatched scale, Lionel Messi may hand off the role of the game's biggest star to Lamine Yamal.","og_url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879","og_site_name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","article_published_time":"2026-06-10T16:51:55+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"15 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"headline":"World Cup: Legends intersect as torch is prepared to be passed","datePublished":"2026-06-10T16:51:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879"},"wordCount":3072,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/882593e45477e4c796408d0f918d8cbf.webp","articleSection":["Soccer"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879","name":"World Cup: Legends intersect as torch is prepared to be passed - Silicon Valley Moving Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/882593e45477e4c796408d0f918d8cbf.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-10T16:51:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/882593e45477e4c796408d0f918d8cbf.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/882593e45477e4c796408d0f918d8cbf.webp","width":1024,"height":688},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13879#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"World Cup: Legends intersect as torch is prepared to be passed"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/","name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com"],"url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}