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Until last month, the young footballer from France Ayyoub Bouaddi probably thought that he would face this year’s FIFA World Cup as many 18-year-olds do – watching on TV, surrounded by friends and family, and supporting Les Bleus, one of the favorites before the tournament and the team he will join in the future.
After rising through France’s youth ranks, Bouaddi was linked to the French national team program and was recognized as a future talent.
But Bouaddi was no ordinary 18-year-old. He was recently the youngest player to record 50 appearances in France’s top football league – Ligue 1.
Despite his incredible talent, France manager Didier Deschamps wanted the curly-haired youngster to continue with the country’s youth team, where he captained France’s Under-21 team as recently as March.
Morocco saw an opportunity and jumped at it.
Deschamps’ refusal to call up Bouaddi for the national team at the World Cup is now a controversial issue in France.
Former Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco midfielder Jerome Rothen expressed his disappointment during the screening Morocco’s World Cup opener against Brazil in New Jersey.
Bouaddi stood out thanks to his mental and physical strength in the midst of the noise, the five-time world champions and their thousands of fans the cauldron that was New York New Jersey Stadium.
“When I hear coach Didier Deschamps’ words, it surprises me,” Rothen told French sports broadcaster RMC Sport.
“With Bouaddi, we didn’t wait to see what he did against Brazil to realize that he was a young player who was ahead of his time,” he said in praise of the players.
Amazing talent
Being ahead of his time has been a theme throughout Bouaddi’s career. On the eve of his 17th birthday, in 2024, the rising star helped Lille to a famous Champions League victory against Real Madrid.
On a special October night in northern France, Bouaddi met French players Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni.
Following the match in Brazil on Saturday, football pundits praised Bouaddi for his ability to play down and establish himself as a Moroccan midfielder.
Despite his young age, pressure was not a problem for the boy who was brought up to handle it from a young age – thanks to his exposure to high-level football and, of course, his father.
Hassan Bouaddi, a former handball player, worked as a bank manager after the game while also serving as deputy mayor of Creil – a town 50km north of Paris.
The elder Bouaddi was passionate about making sure athletics was available to the city’s youth.
The same spirit of sportsmanship was instilled in Ayyoub, who was playing for AFC Creil at the age of five. more emphasis on education.
The midfielder sat the French Baccalaureate at the age of 16 – the first year – and is currently pursuing a degree in mathematics.
Bouaddi’s versatility is also evident in the game. In general, midfielders are known for their defensive skills – protecting defenses from opposition attacks by cutting off passing lanes – but this young talent pool also includes the ability to create attacks.
In the game against the favorites Brazil, he completed 91 percent of his passes, including 16 of them in the third quarter of the game.
His two-piece performance against Brazil was so effective that Casemiro, a five-time UEFA Champions League winner, was sent off at half-time.
Was it his versatility that made Deschamps the choice? The French manager has a wealth of attacking talent including Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, Bundesliga player of the year Michael Olise, and La Liga top scorer Kylian Mbappe.
Therefore, French players are expected to run in circles, not straight, to cover their teammates.
A symbol of the new Morocco
A picture of 10-year-old Bouaddi on his feet at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, wearing a Moroccan shirt, has gone viral on social media after the Brazil match.
But his decision to play in Morocco was not enough.
“We had many meetings with him to select Morocco, and he was good,” Morocco’s coach, Mohamed Ouahbi, told reporters after the Brazil match.
The national transfer proposal was submitted and approved by FIFA in May.
By appointing Ouahbi – who won the 2025 Under-20 World Cup with Morocco – the Moroccan football federation wants to see new blood and new faces thrown into the national team.
Most of the fighters who joined the previous coach Walid Regragui, who took Morocco to the semifinals in Qatar 2022, came out with the defensive tactics that Morocco has done well in the last few years.
Bouaddi is now the symbol of the new club and a rising star among Moroccan fans.
“He is amazing. What a talent, what a professional at 18 years old,” Mohammed, a fan of Morocco and the 29-year-old manager of Restaurante Jerusalen in Barcelona, Spain, told Al Jazeera.
“It was a surprise for all of us as we had never heard of him before the game! Now they say Arsenal want to sign him.”
Lille extended Bouaddi’s contract last year and with three years left on the deal they are expected to make an initial bid of 100 million euros ($114m).
“For those who slept instead of watching Brazil and Morocco, they missed out on (Sergio) Busquets,” Khalil Jadallah, a football commentator, said of Bouaddi’s talent.
“He can pass, he can defend, he can carry the ball, he can control the tempo… all this and he is only 18 years old.”
One moment caught Jadallah’s eye, which he says speaks to Bouaddi’s innate talent.
“He was playing for Brazil in the last seconds of the game in front of his home team. He was insanely confident.”
With Morocco’s games against Scotland and Haiti coming up, fans will be eager to see what Bouaddi can do to win.
If they reach the event, Morocco will only make another World Cup.
