EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, June 14 (Reuters) - For a teenager playing a first competitive international, Ayyoub Bouaddi looked completely at home as Morocco more than matched Brazil in their opening World Cup outing on Saturday.
The 18-year-old carried an imperious air as he moved relentlessly across the pitch, constantly looking for work in an eye-catching midfield performance that helped the North Africans hold the five-time world champions to a 1-1 draw in their Group C clash.
Frequently he would surge forward, the ball stuck to his feet and defenders bouncing off him, in an impressive display of power. The post-match statistics had him making more touches (86) than any of his teammates and with over 90% passing accuracy.
He has been a rising star for some while now at Lille in Ligue 1 and it is no wonder the Moroccans relentlessly pursued trying to persuade the French-born prodigy to switch international allegiance.
FIFA only approved the change on May 15 and Saturday’s clash was just the fourth cap for Bouaddi -- the first three for Morocco coming in their World Cup warm-up matches over the past three weeks.
Coach Mohamed Ouahbi made a bold choice in bringing him into an already well-established squad and starting Bouaddi against Brazil and afterwards could not hide his delight: “We knew what a quality player he was and that’s why we had many meetings to get him to choose to play for Morocco,” he told reporters.
Bouaddi made Morocco wait as he considered his choice, captaining France’s under-21 side as late as March before committing to the African team’s cause.
He had been firmly on the radar from the night of his 17th birthday, when he made a similarly elegant 90-minute entrance onto an imposing stage for Lille in their 1-0 Champions League victory against Real Madrid on October 2, 2024.
He was carried on the shoulders of his teammates at the final whistle, and then-coach Bruno Genesio predicted: “He's a very intelligent guy. He has the talent to play at this level. He needs to prove himself, but I don't think there's too much to worry about in that regard with him."
Off the field, Bouaddi has already proven an outstanding achiever, earning at 16 top honours in his science baccalaureate, a year ahead of schedule.
One year earlier, he had gone to the Élysée Palace and, in front of French first lady Brigitte Macron, won first prize in the youth academy's oratory competition, delivering his speech on the theme "Is the result superior to the method?".
Bouaddi did not talk to reporters after Saturday’s match, this time having let his feet do all the talking.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Toby Chopra)
