18-year-old midfield maestro Ayyoub Bouaddi left Casemiro chasing shadows in Morocco's brilliant 1-1 World Cup draw with Brazil. | AFP
Less than three months ago, Ayyoub Bouaddi was captaining France's Under-21 side in a European Championship qualifier. Now, he is a central figure underpinning Morocco's World Cup ambitions.
The 18-year-old turned in an eye-catching display running the Morocco midfield alongside Neil El Aynaoui in a 1-1 draw with Brazil in his first competitive international appearance on Saturday. His frequent surges forward sliced through the Brazil midfield, leaving Casemiro chasing shadows and prompting Carlo Ancelotti to haul the five-time Champions League winner off at half-time.
Even when Brazil threatened to seize control of the match, he remained unfazed, his spatial awareness and tenacity helping to steady Morocco as the baking heat wore down some of his teammates. But for coach Mohamed Ouahbi, it just exemplified why Morocco were so keen to persuade him to switch his international allegiance.
“Maybe it's because he's a new player that everyone's getting a bit carried away,” said Ouahbi, tasked with bringing through a new crop of players after leading Morocco to Under-20 World Cup glory last year.
