An 18-year-old French-born midfielder just made the kind of career decision that reshapes national team rosters. Ayyoub Bouaddi has officially chosen Morocco over France for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a switch FIFA approved on May 15, 2026.
The football side: a prodigy picks his flag
Bouaddi became Lille’s youngest-ever senior debutant at age 16 in 2023 and hit 50 Ligue 1 appearances before turning 19. Arsenal, Liverpool, and PSG have all circled his name, with transfer valuations sitting in the range of €70 to €100 million.
He progressed through every level of French youth football. Then he chose Morocco.
A childhood photo of Bouaddi wearing a Morocco jersey during the 2018 World Cup has circulated widely, framing the switch as something he’d been building toward for years. Morocco’s national team program has been actively recruiting players with Moroccan heritage raised abroad, particularly in France, and Bouaddi represents the highest-profile success of that strategy yet.
