They told his parents he would never walk properly. Today he runs faster than anyone at the 2026 World Cup ⚽
A doctor looked at the feet of a newborn baby in Terrassa, Spain, and gave his parents news no parent wants to hear: that child would probably never walk normally.
Ismael Saibari was born with a congenital malformation that forced him to wear a brace and kept him from taking his first steps until he was two years old. His family, of Moroccan origin, later had to emigrate to Belgium, fleeing the economic crisis.
Even there, things were not easy: Anderlecht cut him from its youth ranks for physical reasons. But Ismael kept playing, went through Mechelen and Genk, and at 19 signed with PSV Eindhoven, where he ended up becoming champion and MVP of the Dutch league.
Today, at 25, that child they said would never walk is one of the great stars of the 2026 World Cup with Morocco.
He scored in all three group-stage matches, converted the penalty that eliminated the Netherlands, and scored the fastest goal in his national team’s World Cup history: after 71 seconds against Scotland. It is taken for granted that Bayern Munich will pay more than 50 million dollars for him. Sometimes destiny takes time, but it arrives.
