The World Cup and middle names of Yamal, Saka and Gyokeres - from the meaningful to mmmm

Spanish defender Gerard Pique is best known for his trophy-laden career with Barcelona and Spain -- but 'Bernabeu', the name of Barca's arch rivals Real Madrid's stadium, is his middle name. That does not top the best name in football, ever, though: Mark De Man is The Athletic's favourite -- he was always destined to be an international defender with Belgium. Tunji Babajide Banjo, the 66-year-old former Leyton Orient and Nigeria international striker, might just have one of the coolest names in the sport's history, too. Buried within the 1,248 players across the 48 nations competing at this World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada are middle names that may not be seen on the backs of any shirts, but reveal a lot about the men wearing them. A closer look at the official squad lists reveals an England defender whose name traces to an Egyptian god, a Curacao international named after a World Cup winner, and a Senegal striker whose first three names belong to one of the most revered spiritual leaders in West African history. Some are meaningful. Some are ironic. And a few are so perfectly suited to football, their parents must have known exactly what lay ahead for their boy. Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app The Roberto Carlos twins Former Brazil left-back Roberto Carlos, a World Cup winner best remembered for scoring a ridiculous 30-yard free-kick goal against France in 1997, has two players bearing his name in this tournament, though neither was actually named after him. Mexico's Roberto Carlos Alvarado Hernandez, 27, has 85-year-old Brazilian singer-songwriter Roberto Carlos Braga to thank for his moniker, with Braga commonly referred to as the "King of Brazilian Music". Cape Verde's Roberto Carlos Lopes, who was born and raised in the Republic of Ireland, is in no way embracing his reference to his Brazilian eponym. He has adopted the nickname 'Pico' and has spent his entire career in the League of Ireland, but did captain Shamrock Rovers to the domestic double last season. All together now... 'There's only three Roberto Carloses.' Alan Steve Minda Garcia -- Ecuador Could there be a more English-sounding name in all of South America? The 23-year-old winger's first two names sound more like a pair of centre-backs turning out in England's lower divisions than a World Cup attacker. After emerging through Ecuadorian talent-factory club Independiente del Valle, Minda earned a move from Belgian side Cercle Brugge to Atletico Mineiro in Brazil in January. Che Sac Everton Fred Adams -- Scotland There's a lot going on here. The Scotland No 10's first name stems from 20th-century Argentine Marxist leader Che Guevara, a central figure to the Cuban revolution in the 1950s. Sac is a lesser-known middle name deriving from his dad's Central American heritage, and it's unlikely that the rumours that Adams was set to join Everton back in 2023 completed the set. The 29-year-old now plays his football in Italy at Torino. Luca Zinedine Zidane Fernandez -- Algeria Zidane may have the least mysterious middle name at the World Cup. The 28-year-old goalkeeper, who plays in Spain for Granada, is the son of France legend Zinedine Zidane, who won three consecutive Champions Leagues as Real Madrid manager between 2016 and 2018. As a player, Zidane senior won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or in 1998, but Luca has taken a different path to Dad -- representing Algeria between the posts. He had a struggle against Argentina and an inspired Lionel Messi in their opening group match. Christian Mate Pulisic -- United States This middle name would raise eyebrows in any English dressing room, with the former USMNT captain's middle name sounding more at home in a WhatsApp group chat. Mate, however, is the Croatian equivalent of Matthew and honours the 27-year-old's grandfather. The Milan winger holds Croatian citizenship but was born in Pennsylvania and opted to represent the United States. How fitting would it be if he played for Ange Postecoglou at some point, mate? Diop Tehuti Djed-Hotep Spence -- England No player at the tournament can rival the 25-year-old Spence's full name for sheer historical depth. Tehuti is another name for the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom, and Hotep translates from that language as 'peace'. The London-born Tottenham Hotspur defender has Jamaican and Kenyan heritage, though, rather than the Egyptian roots his name would suggest. Thomas Jefferson Smith -- New Zealand Going about his day-to-day life as plain old Tommy Smith, the fact that the New Zealand defender has former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson in his name could easily be missed. Now playing in England's sixth tier with Braintree Town, Smith's World Cup call-up is one of the tournament's more unlikely stories, as he failed to make an appearance in their qualifying campaign. The 36-year-old has 56 caps and featured at their last World Cup in 2010, when the All Whites exited unbeaten. His international recall is set to earn Braintree around £175,000 in FIFA compensation payments -- enough to help lift the club out of a transfer embargo following relegation last season. Addji Keaninkin Marc-Israel Guehi -- England Guehi's father is a Christian minister at a church in south-east London and his middle name, Marc-Israel, reflects that. The 25-year-old's faith became a talking point in 2024, when he wrote "I love Jesus" on a rainbow captain's armband, earning a reprimand from the FA. Less than two years later, the England international completed a £20million move to Manchester City from Crystal Palace in January. Tahith Jose Girigorio Djorkaef Chong -- Curacao The Sheffield United midfielder is the only member of Curacao's 26-strong World Cup squad born on the Caribbean island, and may be the only player at the tournament whose middle name was inspired by a football hero outside of his family. The 26-year-old has revealed his father named him after France's 1998 World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff, after admiring his football for Italian giants Inter. Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana -- Spain There's nothing notably unusual about the 18-year-old's name, but you may not have known that Lamine and Yamal are the first half of it. The rest of the Barcelona winger's moniker, Nasraoui and Ebana, are the family names of his father and mother, who are of Moroccan and Equatoguinean descent, respectively. Before his birth, Yamal's parents were struggling financially and enlisted the help of two people -- one called Lamine, the other Yamal -- to assist them in making their rent payments, with dad Mounir promising to name his child after the pair. Lamine and Yamal mean "trustworthy" and "beauty" in Arabic, a fitting side note to a heartfelt story. Like Guehi and Adams, Yamal was born on July 13. Cakes all round when the World Cup gets to that date, guys? Viktor Einar Gyokeres -- Sweden The middle name of Sweden's Arsenal striker reflects his role within his national and domestic teams. Einar is a Scandinavian term for 'lone' or 'one' warrior, aptly reflecting a season where the 28-year-old finished as top scorer in both his country's qualifying campaign (4) and his club side's Premier League-winning season (14). But Gyokeres doesn't suit the name as well as a previous Sweden front man would have -- a missed opportunity for the parents of middle-nameless former Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona (among others) striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Miro Max Maria Muheim -- Switzerland Mmmm, had alliteration only just been invented when Muheim came along? No is the answer; in fact, it's been a thing since the 15th century, but the solution to Muheim's creative name could stem from his mother Andrea, who is a painter so will no doubt have been familiar with the works of acclaimed Spanish artist Joan Miro. Muheim spent time in Chelsea's youth academy and is now a regular starter for Bundesliga side Hamburg at left-back, but the reasons behind the 28-year-old's alliterative name remain unknown. The Athletic just liked the name. Bukayo Moses Ayoyinka Temidayo Saka -- England The Arsenal winger's name is loaded with happiness, from Ayoyinka, which translates to 'joy surrounds me', to Bukayo, that means 'adds to joy', both in West Africa's Yoruba language. The 24-year-old has spoken previously about the theme that recurs through his family's names, and with 49 England caps, he has lived up to the optimism his name suggests. Isak Malcolm Kwaku Hien -- Sweden Hien carries on a centuries-old naming tradition of West African Akan culture, where boys born on a Wednesday are traditionally named Kwaku -- a nod to the defender's Ghanaian heritage through his father. Now 27, and playing for Serie A side Atalanta, the centre-back has become a regular in Sweden's defence, while retaining a clear connection to his family's roots. Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacke Dieng -- Senegal The striker, widely known as Bamba Dieng, shares the start of his name with Senegalese spiritual leader Cheikh Amadou Bamba, who founded the West African Islamic order Mouridism. The 26-year-old, who plays for Lorient in France's top tier, featured in his country's victorious 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, their first major international trophy, but is no longer a regular starter for them. Middle names. Not for everybody The 19th century was when the introduction of middle names arose, with Western Europe and the Americas seeing population booms that created the need for more distinction between individuals. But the trend failed to reach Eastern Europe and much of Asia, as reflected by the six nations at this World Cup who don't feature a player with a middle name in their squads -- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Japan, South Korea and Uzbekistan. All but one of Cape Verde's squad have one, including winger Willy Johnson Semedo Afonso. We'll just leave that one there.