How France’s greatest strength could become their undoing against Morocco

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The Independent

8 July 2026

What if

France

’s greatest strength becomes their undoing? On each irresistible step towards the

World Cup quarter-finals

, it has been impossible not to marvel at their depth.

Ousmane Dembele

having a quiet game? Let’s put on Bradley Barcola or Rayan Cherki. Is there a need to change the defence? No worries, Ibrahima Konate is still sitting there, just 14 minutes of action in his legs. Midfield lacking energy? How about Warren Zaire-Emery or even N’Golo Kante?

Yet

Morocco

, as European as a non-European team could be, are also benefitting handsomely from

Les Bleus’

wealth of options and in

Ayyoub Bouaddi

, they have very, very recently acquired the game’s newest hot property. A script writer could feel compelled to make him both hero and villain when the nation he represents meets the country he has spent his entire life in Boston on Thursday.

It was only in mid-May that the tournament’s breakout star switched allegiances having captained France’s Under-21s as recently as March. His competitive debut was on the tournament’s opening weekend

when he ran the first half against Brazil

, transforming from precocious talent to household name across the footballing world in the course of a Saturday night.

, however, he has been

l’enfant prodigue

for some time. Bouaddi is the youngest player to feature in a European club competition, appearing for Lille in a Conference League match aged 16 and three days. Seventeen days later he made a Ligue 1 debut and has steadily grown in stature since, already passing 50 league appearances aged 18.

His talents have been there for all to see in the past month, undaunted by the stage. The energy, the vision, the fluidity on the ball: it has been a joy to watch. Off the field, too, he is described as the brightest of minds,

winning an oratory award in 2024

; one of those enviable people who can succeed at everything they turn their hand to.

Lille, aware that the biggest vultures would soon be circling, have already tied him down to a contract until the summer of 2029 which, at worst, ensures he will not be sold cheaply.

Bouaddi, whose parents both migrated north, has shared a dressing room with several members of

Didier Deschamps

’ squad and, as assistant coach Guy Stephan spelled out in a press conference on Monday, “he’s a pure product of the French youth system.”

open image in gallery

Bouaddi during the comfortable win against Canada. (Reuters)

The decision, according to various reports in

, was neither a quick nor easy one. Born in Senlis, a town about 90 minutes north of Paris, Bouaddi weighed up his options for some time; a weighty decision for a young man feeling pressure from both sides.

Rumours of Zinedine Zidane, who is widely expected to replace Deschamps after this summer, calling him up to try and earn a long-term commitment have been denied. But

, whose scouting network should be the blueprint for

any nation with a widespread diaspora

, were clearly proactive. Head coach Walid Regragui asked Bouaddi if he would play in last winter’s Africa Cup of Nations and travelled to meet him personally but the midfielder decided it was best to remain focused on Lille, also buying some time to ensure he was comfortable with his final decision.

Bouaddi’s sense of affiliation is no doubt multi-layered but in a rare interview midway through the season his sense of ambition was made clear.

Asked by

L’Equipe

to name what he dreams about, Bouaddi stated: “To win the

World Cup

, the Champions League - to win everything.”

While it is tempting to argue his best chance to do the former may have been as a member of this squad, the reality is that he was not even close to being Deschamps’ 26th man.

Rabiot is near the top of Deschamps' midfield hierarchy (Reuters)

"It just so happens that we are quite well-stocked in this area of the pitch,” Stephan said. “When you have Tchouameni, Rabiot, Kone, Kante and Zaire-Emery, if I ask who to take off, we wouldn't get the same answer in the room. It's a problem of quality and quantity. But he remains a good player, even a very good player."

No-one seems hurt by the defection for the simple reason that there is an acceptance on all sides that France’s depth of talent is obscene.

"He's obviously someone we know well, someone the national coaches who worked with him at the youth level know well,” Stephan added. “He was a very good player with the U21s. Then he made a choice at a certain point in his career, and we're not going to blame him for that. Quite the opposite.”

Should he be integral to sending the country of his birth home, that feeling may change.

Hakimi, Bouaddi, El Aynaoui and Saibari start for Morocco against Canada in World Cup last 16

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