Yamal Rabona AI: Pretend the Rabona and Leave the Defender Sliding
Upload one photo. AI places you on the byline during a night match: you set up for a rabona, a defender slides in, you don't kick, and they slide right by. Then you look at the camera with a shrug. Upload a second photo to make your friend or pet the defender.
The Yamal rabona trend drops you, or your grandma, into Lamine Yamal's pretend rabona: at the byline during a night match you cross one leg behind the other as though you'll cross the ball, don't kick it, and the defender slides right by. It recreates his assist from 13 October 2026. Upload one full-body photo, or two if your friend or pet is playing the defender.
Also called Lamine Yamal AI trend · Near-rabona · Semi-rabona · Falsa rabona
Example
What the Yamal Fake Rabona video looks like
Here's the original reel that launched the trend. Your video is a fresh clip generated from your photo in this style, not a duplicate of these frames. Every run produces different results.
Original reel by @a11302540yc, 6 s
The grandma version from @a11302540yc's tutorial, the most-viewed AI clip in the trend: a grandma wearing a headscarf swings her leg to rabona, a defender slides by, and she keeps dribbling down the byline. Your clip is a fresh scene starring you or your grandma.
How to make the Yamal Fake Rabona video on Smew AI
Everything happens in the browser. No editing app needed, no prompt to write, no watermark.
Add your photo
Press "Create your own" and upload you (or your grandma), full body. Snap it with the camera or choose from your library.
Press Generate
The button displays the price. Seedance 2.5 creates the Yamal rabona scene directly from your photo, skipping any intermediate picture, for 8 seconds with authentic sound. You write no prompt.
Download or share
The video appears in a few minutes as a 9:16 MP4. Download it, share from your phone, or retrieve it later from your Library.
Which photo works best?
Upload one full-body photo: yourself, or your grandma or grandpa with their permission. For Friend defender, upload a full-body photo of the friend sliding past as photo 2. For Pet defender, upload a photo of your dog or cat as photo 2, showing the entire body.
Full body, standing, feet visible. The trick is all footwork, so the AI must see your shoes and stance.
Face clear and well lit. Most of the clip films from a high TV angle where faces are tiny; the final close-up is where friends recognize you, so choose a sharp, front-facing photo.
Wear what you want to play in. The AI preserves your outfit: a cardigan and skirt, a suit or pajamas look funnier on the byline than football gear.
One person, or one pet, per photo. The AI might choose the wrong person in a group photo.
Never a footballer, celebrity, stranger or child.
Where did the Yamal Fake Rabona trend start?
On 13 October 2026 Barcelona won 4-1 at Galatasaray in the Champions League. In the 53rd minute Lamine Yamal ran to the byline, crossed his left leg behind his right as if to hit a rabona, never kicked, dragged the ball back past the defender and set up Anthony Gordon's goal. He called it a "near-rabona", a move "which looks good but is also effective" (AP).
The Lamine Yamal rabona clips went viral that night. A fan edit posted at 23:28 UTC passed 675,000 views, Spanish-speaking fans named the move "la no rabona" (the no-rabona), and a recreation in a football video game passed 1.2 million views.
On 15 October the AI version arrived: a CapCut template that puts someone else in Yamal's place, with a grandma in a headscarf as its demo. The biggest how-to video, posted that evening, had 809,000 views a day later, and more than ten template accounts posted the Lamine Yamal AI trend. On 16 October AI video sites added the move as a template, one of them with a friend or a pet as the defender. Smew AI makes it as a new scene from your photos: you alone, you and a friend, or you and your pet.
Lamine Yamal pretends a rabona on the byline and creates Anthony Gordon's 53rd-minute goal as Barcelona win 4-1 at Galatasaray in the Champions League. AP via La Nación
A fan edit of the pretend rabona by @lizrd_aep goes live at 23:28 UTC; by 16 October it reaches 675,700 views and 55,100 likes, and #lanorabona begins 12 minutes later. TikTok
CapCut template tutorials for the AI version surface in the afternoon (UTC); @c0pe6zs0b9's, featuring a grandma as the player, hits 346,000 views the next day. TikTok
A Spanish tutorial video by @a11302540yc posted at 19:50 UTC climbs to 809,200 views and 49,100 likes by the following day, the largest in the trend. TikTok
#fakerabona contains 178 TikTok videos and 11.4 million views, and in Google Trends "yamal rabona" is searched roughly twice as much as "fake rabona" that week.
AI video sites introduce the trick as a template, and one allows a friend or pet to play the sliding defender: the concept behind the Friend defender and Pet defender options on this page.
#fakerabona surpasses 200 TikTok videos, with roughly 32 new videos daily, and "yamal rabona" remains the top-searched name for the trick in Google Trends.
Copy and paste
The Yamal Fake Rabona prompts
You don't need this: the one-tap workflow handles it for you. [Image 1] is your photo: the video model uses it as reference and creates the scene directly from it, skipping any photo step.
Fake rabona
1 photo: you (or your grandma), full bodySeedance 2.58 s · 720p · 9:16101 credits
Video prompt
TV broadcast football shot: the person from the photo [Image 1] runs with the ball, fakes a rabona kick, a defender slides past, the crowd cheers. One vertical 9:16 football clip of a night match, photorealistic and sharp, filmed like real TV coverage by a low-angle sports camera at pitch level.
The player is the person in [Image 1], in every frame: copy the exact face from [Image 1] (the face shape, eye color and eye shape, eyebrows, nose, mouth, skin tone, age, hair color, hair length and hairstyle, and any beard, moustache, glasses or freckles), the same build, and the clothes and shoes from [Image 1]: their own everyday clothes, never a football kit or a jersey. The person is an adult. The same person from the first frame to the last, so their friends recognize them at once, also in the close-up at the end. Never morph. If [Image 1] shows an animal, the player is that animal running upright on its hind legs, with its own face, fur and markings, not a person.
The place: a big football stadium at night under bright floodlights, a full crowd in dark stands, a green pitch with mowed stripes, the white goal line and the corner of the six-yard box, a white goal with a net. One defender: a generic adult player in a plain white kit with no crest, no logo, no number and no text. A plain white ball with no logo and no pattern.
0-2 s, a low-angle sports camera at pitch level beside the goal line, tracking the play, both whole bodies in view: the person dribbles fast along the goal line toward the goal, arms out for balance, the ball close to the feet; the defender sprints in from the side.
2-4.5 s, the feint, in a brief slow motion, still at pitch level, the legs and the ball large and sharp: beside the ball the person plants the left foot as the standing leg and swings the right leg behind the left standing leg to fake a rabona pass without striking the ball: the right leg winds far back and around behind the left leg, the legs crossed, as if to cross the ball. At the same moment the defender slides in feet first across the grass to block the cross.
4.5-5.5 s, the fake: the right foot stops just before the ball and never touches it; the ball stays where it is. Then a quick sole drag moves the ball away, and the defender slides right past on the grass, fooled. The crowd gasps, then roars.
5.5-8 s, a cut to a close shot at pitch level, from the chest up: the person looks into the camera with a calm, cheeky little smile and a small shrug, as if it was easy; the face is large and sharp: exactly the face from [Image 1]. The floodlights and the crowd are soft behind.
Audio: the roar of the crowd, the thud of the ball, studs on the grass, the slide, a loud gasp at the fake. No commentary, no music with words.
Exactly one ball and one defender near the person. No score graphic, no match clock, no TV channel logo, no flags, no club or national team kits, no crests, no sponsor names, no captions, no watermark. No famous athlete: the defender and every fan are generic adults. Plain kits, no crest, no logo, no text, also on the boards and the stadium screens. Realistic ball physics. Anatomy rules: one head, two arms, two legs, one foot at the end of each leg, no extra limbs; the legs cross behind each other but never merge or swap; the person never merges with the defender or the ball.
2 photos: you (or your grandma), full body + your friend (the defender), full bodySeedance 2.58 s · 720p · 9:16101 credits
Video prompt
TV broadcast football shot: the person from [Image 1] runs with the ball and fakes a rabona kick, their friend from [Image 2] slides in and slides right past, the crowd cheers. A vertical 9:16 clip of a night match, photorealistic, filmed like real TV coverage by a low-angle sports camera at pitch level.
The player is the person in [Image 1], in every frame: copy the exact face from [Image 1] (the face shape, eye color and eye shape, eyebrows, nose, mouth, skin tone, age, hair color, hair length and hairstyle, and any beard, moustache, glasses or freckles), the same build, and the clothes and shoes from [Image 1], never a football kit.
The defender is the person in [Image 2], in every frame: copy the exact face from [Image 2] in the same way, the same build, and the clothes and shoes from [Image 2], never a football kit. If an image shows an animal, it stays that animal with its own face, fur and markings: upright with the ball, or on four legs as the defender. Two different people: never blend the two faces. Each face stays the same from the first frame to the last, so their friends recognize them at once, also in the close-up at the end. Never morph.
The place: a big football stadium at night under bright floodlights, a full crowd in dark stands, a green striped pitch, the white goal line, a white goal with a net. A plain white ball with no logo.
0-2 s, a low-angle sports camera at pitch level beside the goal line, both whole bodies in view: the player dribbles fast along the goal line toward the goal, the ball close to the feet; the defender sprints in from the side.
2-4.5 s, the feint, in a brief slow motion, still at pitch level, the legs and the ball large and sharp: the player plants the left foot as the standing leg and swings the right leg behind the left standing leg to fake a rabona pass without striking the ball: the right leg winds far back and around behind the left leg, the legs crossed, as if to cross. The defender slides in feet first across the grass to block the cross.
4.5-5.5 s: the right foot stops just before the ball and never touches it; the ball stays where it is. Then a quick sole drag moves the ball away, while the defender slides right past, fooled, and ends up sitting on the grass. The player rolls the ball on toward the post. The crowd gasps, then roars.
5.5-8 s, a cut to a close shot at pitch level: in front, the player from the chest up looks into the camera with a calm, cheeky smile and a small shrug; just behind, the defender sits on the grass, mouth open in disbelief, then shakes their head and laughs. Both faces are large and sharp: exactly the faces from [Image 1] and [Image 2].
Audio: the roar of the crowd, the thud of the ball, the slide, a loud gasp at the fake. No commentary, no music with words.
Exactly two people near the ball and one ball. No referee, no other players close by. No score graphic, no TV logo, no club or national team kits, no crests, no sponsor names, no captions, no watermark; every fan is a generic adult. Plain kits, no crest, no logo, no text, also on the boards and the stadium screens. Realistic ball physics, no extra limbs. Anatomy: each person has two arms, two legs and two feet; the legs cross but never merge or swap; the two people never merge with each other or with the ball.
You pay per video using credits, and the create page displays the exact price on the Generate button before you spend. The one-tap price includes the scene photo and video, charged once. One video costs 101 credits, so the smallest one-time pack covering it is $14.99 for 150 credits, no subscription. The cheaper models are available if you run the prompts manually in AI Video.
Video model
Settings
Credits
Seedance 2.5 (this template)
8 s, 720p, straight from your photos, one tap
101
One-time packs and plans are on the pricing page. A failed video gives its credits back.
What happens in the Yamal rabona clip?
Your clip recreates the trick, then includes a close-up of you, in 8 seconds:
Seconds
What happens
0 to 2
From a high TV angle, you dribble quickly down the byline toward the goal, arms spread, ball at your feet.
2 to 4
You plant one foot and cross the other leg behind it as though you'll cross the ball with a rabona. A defender slides in feet-first to block.
4 to 5.5
You don't kick. You pull the ball back with your sole, the defender slides by on the grass, and you roll the ball on toward the post while the crowd reacts.
5.5 to 8
Cut to a pitch-level close-up: you glance at the camera with a small smile and a shrug.
The clip is vertical (9:16), 720p, featuring the crowd, ball and slide, with no music so you can add audio when posting. The stadium is generic: no club or national kits, no badges, no score overlay and no actual players. In the single-photo version the defender is a generic player wearing a plain white kit; with two photos, your friend or pet replaces them.
How it is made. Seedance 2.5, ByteDance's latest video model, creates the clip directly from your photo (or your two photos) without an intermediate picture, keeping faces faithful to the photos. You write no prompt. The exact price appears on the Generate button before you spend, and if a run fails, credits are refunded.
Your friend or your pet as the defender
In the trend's original clips, the fooled defender is the actual player. On Smew AI they can be someone you know. Choose a version on the create page:
Version
Photos
Who slides past
Fake rabona
1: you
A generic defender wearing a plain white kit
Friend defender
2: you, then your friend
Your friend, wearing their own clothes
Pet defender
2: you, then your dog or cat
Your pet, on all fours
Friend defender. You pretend the Yamal rabona; your friend dives into a slide tackle, misses completely and winds up seated on the grass, then shakes their head and laughs in the close-up. Tag them with "Still looking for the ball". It's the simplest way to create an AI video with friends: one clear photo of each, every face sharp, and no prompt. Switch the two photos to switch roles.
Pet defender. Your dog or cat charges in, dives low with front paws forward, slides on its belly past the ball, rolls over and jumps up, unharmed and happy, then sits beside you, tail wagging, for the close-up. Clips of a dog playing soccer or a cat playing soccer are an internet staple; this is an AI video of you and your pet in a floodlit stadium, a fake rabona dog clip that serves as a dog playing football meme, or a cat playing football one.
All three maintain the same stadium, the same trick and the same 8 seconds. Funny AI soccer videos perform best when the fooled person is someone your followers recognize, so a slide tackle meme with your best friend or dog outperforms one with a stranger.
Why not the match clip?
The CapCut template behind the trend duplicates the TV broadcast: the defender wears their actual club kit and resembles the real player. Many viral versions also insert a famous footballer, singer or cartoon character in Yamal's spot. The example on this page is the grandma result from the largest tutorial video in the trend, so its defender is that copy; it demonstrates the trend's aesthetic, not a Smew AI result. Smew AI doesn't duplicate that broadcast. Your clip is a fresh scene with the same trick, in a generic stadium, starring you with no real player's face. That also makes it a safe AI football video, or AI soccer video, to share, and the final close-up highlights your face, which the high TV angle of the original never does.
Who should do the fake rabona?
The joke is someone who's never played executing one of the season's smartest tricks:
Your grandma. The template's original demo features a grandma in a headscarf, and grandma rabona clips are the trend's funniest. Ask first. It becomes an AI grandma video her friends will pass around.
Your dad, in work attire. Tag him with "He says he invented this in 1987".
You, in today's outfit. Pajamas, a suit or a hoodie all appear in the clip.
Hashtags. #fakerabona (178 videos and 11.4 million views on 16 October 2026) and #lanorabona represent the trick; #lamineyamal and #rabona are the major tags. Leave the platform's AI label on.
A fake is challenging for video models. Generate again; every run is a fresh take
The legs cross strangely, or a third leg appears briefly
Common in quick leg tricks. Generate again; a full-body photo with both feet visible helps
The face is difficult to see in wide shots
It's tiny from a high camera, like on TV. The final close-up is where your face is sharp
You're wearing a kit instead of your outfit
The prompt preserves your actual clothes. A photo where your outfit is clearly visible helps
A logo, number or text appears
The prompt excludes kits, badges, score overlays and text. Generate again if one appears
The two faces merge, or your friend receives your face
Use two sharp photos of two different people, one per photo, you first. Generate again
Your pet looks less like its photo, or stands like a human
Use a sharp daylight photo of the complete pet, eyes visible. Generate again; every run is a fresh take
FAQ
Yamal Fake Rabona trend questions
What is a rabona?+
A rabona kick is a pass, cross or shot where the kicking leg wraps behind the standing leg, so the player strikes "cross-legged". Rabona football (rabona soccer in the US) employs it for flair and surprise: a rabona pass or a rabona assist from the byline is a classic.
What is the rabona meaning?+
The word is Spanish: in Argentina "hacerse la rabona" means to skip school, and the name attached to the trick. The fake rabona, or "la no rabona", is the same leg swing without the kick at the end.
What did Lamine Yamal do in the fake rabona?+
Against Galatasaray on 13 October 2026, Yamal reached the byline, swung his left leg behind his right as though crossing with a rabona, didn't kick, pulled the ball back past the defender and created Anthony Gordon's goal. He described it as a "near-rabona" (AP).
How to do a rabona, and how do you fake one?+
For a real rabona, position your standing foot beside the ball, swing your kicking leg behind it and hit the ball with the inside or laces. For the fake rabona skill, perform the same swing but stop short, then pull the ball back with your sole while the defender commits. A fake rabona tutorial on video is the simplest way to learn the timing; on Smew AI you just need a photo.
What is the Lamine Yamal AI trend?+
An October 2026 trend where AI inserts someone else into Yamal's fake rabona: a grandma, a friend, a celebrity. Creators post the Lamine Yamal AI video as a meme with CapCut template tutorials. On Smew AI you create your own funny Lamine Yamal AI meme from one photo of yourself, with no actual player in it.
How do I make the Yamal rabona AI video?+
Press "Create your own", select a version (Fake rabona, Friend defender or Pet defender), upload one or two full-body photos, and press Generate. The button displays the price first. You receive an 8-second vertical clip with crowd audio, and you write no prompt. It appears in your Library when ready.
Do I need the Lamine Yamal CapCut template?+
No. The Lamine Yamal rabona tutorial videos direct you to a CapCut template duplicating the match broadcast. Here you upload one photo (or two) and receive the finished clip as a fresh scene, ready to share: Smew AI functions as an AI football video generator for this single trick.
Can I put Lamine Yamal or another footballer in the clip?+
No, not as the player and not as the defender. A fake clip of a real person can violate platform rules and that person's rights. The template is designed for you, or an adult with permission, and the defender is a generic player, your friend or your pet.
Can my friend be the defender?+
Yes: select **Friend defender**. Upload your photo first and your friend's second, both full body with clear faces. You pretend the rabona, your friend slides in, slides past and lands on the grass, then laughs in the close-up. Switch photos to switch roles. Use a friend with permission, never a stranger, footballer or child.
Can my grandma do the rabona?+
Yes, with her permission: grandmas are the preferred players in this AI football trend. Use a full-body photo of her standing, face clear. She retains her own clothes, so the cardigan and skirt remain on the pitch.
Can my dog or cat be in the fake rabona clip?+
Yes: select **Pet defender**. Upload your photo first, then a photo of your dog or cat showing the entire body. Your pet plays the defender: it dives into a belly slide, skids past the ball and sits beside you for the close-up. It remains on all fours, with no kit. It functions as an AI pet video generator for football, with no prompt. For a dancing pet, try the [AI dancing pet video](/templates/ai-dancing-dog-video).
Is this the Lamine Yamal dribbling AI video?+
Yes, the same moment: some AI sites name it the Lamine Yamal dribbling AI video, after the dribble down the byline. Here you create the Lamine Yamal dribbling video as yourself, and with the Pet defender version your dogs or cats can be the ones you dribble around. No actual player appears in the clip.
How long is the video and what format is it?+
8 seconds, vertical 9:16, 720p, with crowd audio and no music, in all three versions.
