Mathias Kazuo Flores Tamayo is 11 years old, lives in Comas, in northern Lima, and has been drawing since he was five. When his mother Silvia, a cook, explained to him that the official 2026 World Cup album cost around 500 soles they didn’t have, he didn’t cry or complain. He grabbed pencils, crayons, and markers, and got to work.
For weeks he built his own album page by page: national team crests, portraits of players, stadiums, and even his own handmade sticker packs. Each page took him about seven minutes. He gave his creation its own name: ‘Matini.’ On April 24, his mother uploaded a video to TikTok showing the result. There, on one of the pages, Mathias had written a phrase that broke the heart of whoever read it: ‘Sorry for my poverty’.
The video surpassed two million views in days. Panini México’s official account responded publicly, promising him the original album as a gift. Mathias was interviewed by Telemundo and media outlets from across the continent, and met footballer Paolo Guerrero in person. His dream remains the same as always: to study architecture or painting, and one day see a World Cup live.