Rabat – Ayoub Bouaddi’s breakout performance with Morocco at the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Brazil last Saturday has reignited debate in France over how one of the country’s brightest young midfield talents slipped away.
The 18-year-old Lille midfielder has become the tournament’s most-talked-about young player after impressing against Brazil, drawing praise for his composure, intelligence on the ball, and maturity far beyond his age.
Bouaddi’s rise has also revived discussions around the long-running competition between Morocco and France over dual-nationality talents, with several French voices now openly questioning whether the French Football Federation moved too slowly to secure his international future.
Among them was former France international and current pundit Jérôme Rothen, who expressed surprise at how France handled Bouaddi’s case during an appearance on RMC’s “Rothen s’enflamme” program.
Bouaddi’s talent had been obvious long before the World Cup, Rothen argued, insisting France should not have needed the Morocco-Brazil game to recognize his level.
France failed to act sooner
The former midfielder pointed to Bouaddi’s experience despite his age, noting that the teenager has already surpassed 100 professional appearances with Lille and gained Champions League experience before even turning 18.
“When you have a player of that quality, the coaching staff, the federation, everyone involved should have contacted him earlier to convince him of the French national team project,” Rothen said.
He went even further by comparing Bouaddi favorably to current France midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, claiming the Moroccan international possesses a different and, in his view, higher technical quality.
Bouaddi’s decision to represent Morocco was already seen as a major symbolic win for the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, which has intensified efforts in recent years to recruit top dual-nationality players across Europe.
Now, after his performances on football’s biggest stage, France appears to be looking back at the midfielder it failed to keep.
