Brilliant teenager Bouaddi glides on to big stage with effortless grace for Morocco

The name Ayyoub Bouaddi was on everyone’s lips after Brazil’s draw against Morocco on Saturday night. Even the army of concerned South American journalists firing questions at Vinícius Júnior at the MetLife Stadium had to acknowledge that the Real Madrid forward had been fortunate to be named as man of the match despite scoring a superb equaliser to rescue a point for Carlo Ancelotti’s side in their opening game.

Instead it was the imposing figure with a distinctive mop of hair in Morocco’s central midfield who stole the show in his first competitive international. Bouaddi managed the most touches (88), won the most duels (11) and completed the most successful passes in the opposition’s half (30), finishing with a passing success rate of 93% as he dominated Casemiro – a player almost twice his age and with a vastly different career trajectory.

It came as no surprise to his coach, Mohamed Ouahbi, after he played a crucial role in convincing Bouaddi, who made his debut for Lille in March 2023, three days after his 16th birthday, to turn down France’s overtures just before this tournament.

“He didn’t impress me because we already know what a player he is,” Ouahbi said. “I’m not the guy to be afraid of playing youngsters. We were sure and certain that he’d have a big match, and so it wasn’t a risk at all – it wasn’t the kind of match for taking risks against Brazil.”

He added: “We had a lot of meetings with him to get him to choose Morocco, and he was good. He already has a lot of experience in Ligue 1. It’s not just about his age; he has already played more matches than others [older than him], more matches in the Champions League. There was also the masterclass against Real Madrid and so he may only be 18 but he already has a lot of experience.”

Ouahbi was referring to Bouaddi’s performance in a 1-0 victory against Ancelotti’s Madrid in October 2024 on the day he turned 17, which ended with Lille’s supporters singing happy birthday to him on the pitch.

That ensured that every big club in Europe has been tracking his progress since. Arsenal are in preliminary talks to sign a player believed to be valued at about £70m by Lille; Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are thought to have registered an interest and Liverpool had scouts watching him on Saturday.

“Let’s keep this mindset, it’s only the beginning,” Bouaddi said on social media after the Brazil game. A photograph of him attending a Morocco match as a 10-year-old at the 2018 World Cup was also doing the rounds as the internet swooned. “He’s a great player,” said Morocco’s Sunderland winger Chemsdine Talbi. “He came to help us and we’re really happy to have him on the team.”

Bouaddi was born and raised in Creil in the Oise department, where his father, Hassan, used to be deputy mayor, and played for AFC Creil until he joined Lille’s academy at 13. Not long before his historic debut in the Conference League that made him the youngest player to play in a European club competition game, he won a public-speaking contest for players enrolled at professional academies in France at the Élysée Palace that was attended by Brigitte Macron.

Bouaddi is studying for a degree in mathematics and physics “to make the most of my free time”. “That’s how I was raised,” he said. “It helps keep your mind sharp.”

The future looks bright for him and Morocco under Ouahbi, who is in his first senior role as manager after winning the Under-20 World Cup last year. The midfield that finished the game against Brazil had an average age of 20.6, with Roma’s Neil El Aynaoui – the son of the retired tennis player Younès – and Samir El Mourabet of Strasbourg also impressing against a Brazil side that looked laboured by comparison.

Casemiro’s partnership with Bruno Guimarães will probably not be seen again and although Fabinho added some stability when he came on in the second half, the 32-year-old’s best days are behind him. Brazil’s starting XI had their highest average age for a game since 2006, although Vinícius Júnior rejected the suggestion that they were calling out for an injection of youth in the engine room.

“I don’t believe that,” he said. “I think we have to adapt to the players we have here, young players, more experienced players, adapt to each other, help us, because it will make all the difference for us. Experience matters a lot in this competition, and the young guys like me and other players who are here, we will have to do everything for our group to achieve great results in the competition.”