With Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté expected to rest against Southampton, Italian teenage sensation Giovanni Leoni might get his debut (Credits: Imago Images)
Ayyoub Bouaddi is not yet 19 years old, but the Lille midfielder is already being spoken about as one of football’s future global superstars.
The 18-year-old has been valued at £70 million before this World Cup, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool all closely monitoring his development.
That figure could rise sharply before the tournament concludes, given the manner in which Bouaddi dismantled Brazil’s midfield in Morocco’s opening Group C fixture.
Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes, two of the world’s most respected midfielders, were both outplayed by a teenager still months away from his 19th birthday.
Scotland now face the same challenge on Friday, with Steve Clarke’s squad preparing to contain a player whose reputation has been building for several extraordinary years.
Bouaddi made his senior debut for Lille in a UEFA Conference League match against Faroese club KI at just 16 years and three days old, becoming the youngest player ever to appear in a European club competition.
On his 17th birthday, he helped Lille beat Champions League holders Real Madrid 1-0, performing impressively against Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga in the process.
He turned 18 and marked the occasion by helping Lille win 1-0 against AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in Europa League competition, demonstrating a remarkable habit of performing on the biggest occasions.
Born and raised in northern France, Bouaddi joined Lille’s academy as a schoolboy and captained the French Under-21 side, having represented Les Bleus at every level from Under-16 upward.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation confirmed just three months before this World Cup that Bouaddi had received FIFA approval to switch international allegiance, with eligibility granted through his parents.
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi, a 49-year-old Belgian who guided Morocco to Under-20 World Cup success last autumn, has been central to convincing Bouaddi to commit to the Atlas Lions.
Ouahbi, who previously coached youth teams at Anderlecht and Monaco, was promoted to the senior role after replacing Walid Regragui earlier this year.
He showed no hesitation in deploying Bouaddi against Brazil, stating: “We knew very well what kind of player he was. That’s why we had a lot of meetings for him to choose Morocco.”
Ouahbi was emphatic when asked whether starting such a young player represented a gamble, saying: “Was it a risk to let him play? No. I don’t look at the age of the player. He can be 35 years old. If he is performing, he will play.”
He added: “He has games in the Champions League, a masterclass against Real Madrid. So he is 18 years old, but he is a very composed person who already has a lot of experience. There was no risk at all.”
Scotland’s midfielders Scott McTominay and John McGinn are seasoned operators accustomed to facing world-class competition week in and week out across Europe’s top competitions.
Notably, McGinn already holds a personal edge over Bouaddi, having scored when Aston Villa knocked Lille out of the Conference League in April 2024, when the Moroccan was still an unused substitute.
McGinn scored again against Lille in March of this year as Villa eliminated the French side in the Europa League last eight, going on to win the competition, with Bouaddi much more heavily involved on that occasion.
Scotland’s talisman has already made his mark at this World Cup too, netting the winning goal against Haiti to send an entire nation into celebration.
Off the pitch, Bouaddi is equally impressive, having won a public speaking competition for players enrolled at professional academies in France at the age of just 15, performing in front of Brigitte Macron at the Elysee Palace.
His next major stage is the Boston Stadium, where Scotland and Morocco will collide in what promises to be one of the most compelling midfield battles of the entire tournament.
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