A 26-year-old winger who was playing second-division football in Austria not long ago just scored twice against Iran at the World Cup. And crypto traders noticed before most football pundits did.
Elijah Just’s meteoric rise from obscurity to becoming New Zealand’s most dangerous attacking threat has done more than generate sports headlines. It has injected fresh volatility into Polymarket’s FIFA World Cup betting markets, where the tournament winner category alone has generated nearly $2 billion in volume.
From the Austrian basement to the world’s biggest stage
Just signed for Scottish Premiership side Motherwell on July 9, 2025. He went on to notch 7 goals in 35 league appearances during the season. Just’s brace against Iran in the group stage changed everything. He became the first permanent Motherwell player to feature in a World Cup since 1994, a gap of over three decades. BBC Scotland described it as one of the most rapid rises the sport has seen, from second-division football to the game’s grandest stage.
His current market value sits at approximately EUR 2.5 million as of May 2026. New Zealand, grouped in Group G, will face Egypt on June 21, 2026.
