Morocco’s wonderkid Bouaddi’s performance surprises the world

Morocco's rising star Ayoub Bouaddi played brilliantly in the midfield during the World Cup match against Brazil at MetLife Stadium. Keeping the 18-year-old in the starting eleven did not seem like a risky decision to Morocco's head coach Mohamed Wahbi, and he was not even surprised by his performance.

Bouaddi represented the French U-21 team last March after playing for the youth teams. However, the Lille midfielder faced five-time world champions Brazil in his first international match for the national team.

Ismael Sabry's goal gave the 'Atlas Lions' the first lead in the 21st minute of the match. However, 11 minutes later, Vinicius Junior's goal equalized for the tournament's most successful team, Brazil. Although the match ended in a 1-1 draw, the Moroccan wonderkid's performance has captivated football fans around the world in the New York gallery.

After the match, Morocco coach Mohamed Wahbi told reporters, "It was not a risk to play him because he is only 18."

He added, "I only look at the performance of the players, not their age. If he plays well, he will play even if he is 35, or even if he is 17."

The Moroccan coach made it clear that playing the young Bouaddi was not a rash decision.

"I am not someone who is afraid of playing young players. We were sure that he would give a great match, so it was not a risk at all. It was not a match to take risks against a team like Brazil. Maybe everyone is so excited because he is a new player. This is his first match at the international level at such a young age and it is also such an important match, but he has no lack of experience."

The Lille midfielder was in control throughout the match. In the first half, he kept Brazil veteran Casemiro bottled up. Then Casemiro was replaced by UEFA Champions League winner Fabinho in the second half. But Bouaddi controlled the midfield against him.

The young French-born footballer, who turned 18 last October, has already played 63 games in French Ligue 1 since making his debut for Lille in the 2023-24 season. He made the final decision to play for Morocco in international football last month and made his debut in a friendly match against Madagascar on June 2.

Coach Wahbi praised Bouaddi, saying, "He didn't surprise me in today's game because we already know what kind of player he is. We had many meetings with him to make sure he chose Morocco, and that worked. He has great experience playing in Ligue 1." It's not just about age, he's played more games than many players older than him, and he's also got experience in the Champions League.

Recalling Lille's historic 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League in March 2024, the coach said, "Just look at his incredible performance against Real Madrid; he may be 18, but he's already got a lot of experience."

Bouaddi started in midfield with 24-year-old Neil El Aynaoui in Saturday's match. Later, when Strasbourg's 20-year-old midfielder Samir El Mourawet came on, Morocco's midfield was completely dominated by young players at the final whistle.

On his future plans, the Morocco coach said, "We have a lot of players in midfield for the future. Ayoub, El Aynaoui, Samir did well on the field. And Azizine Unaihi, 26, played brilliantly in the first half."

He added, "We will do better in the upcoming matches. We have other midfielders, like (Sofian) Amrabat, who can add a different dimension to the team. Also, many of the players with whom I won the U-20 World Cup are no longer in the team. So we are very confident about the future."

The Atlas Lions will face Scotland in their second Group C match in Foxborough on June 19. Just five days later, Morocco will play their final group match against Haiti in Atlanta.

His performance in Lille's 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League may have caught the eye of the Moroccan Football Federation. He was called up to the national team. This youngster is equally focused not only on the field, but also off the field. He graduated from high school with great results. It became clear in one night against Brazil that Morocco had found their future big star. The 18-year-old Bouaddi said that at this age, you can raise your head in competition.