Morocco's Ayyoub Bouaddi Becomes 2nd Youngest Player After Pele To..

Published 10 July 2026 · sports

Morocco's Ayyoub Bouaddi Becomes 2nd Youngest Player After Pele To Play FIFA World Cup Quarterfinal Published By, Last Updated: July 10, 2026, 05:31 IST The

Morocco's Ayyoub Bouaddi Becomes 2nd Youngest Player After Pele To Play FIFA World Cup Quarterfinal Published By, Last Updated: July 10, 2026, 05:31 IST The former France U21 captain is the second-youngest player in the world after Brazil legend Pele to feature in a FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match. Ayyoub Bouaddi becomes 2nd youngest player to play a FIFA World Cup quarterfinal. (Picture Credit: AP) 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi was part of Morocco’s starting XI in their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal match against France and played the first 62 minutes of the match for the African team in the 0-2 defeat at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Thursday (July 9). By featuring for Morocco in the first quarterfinal of this year’s FIFA World Cup, Bouaddi has entered his name in the record books. The former France U21 captain is the second-youngest player in the world after Brazil legend Pele to feature in a FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match. 18 – Aged 18 years and 280 days, 🇲🇦 Morocco’s Ayyoub Bouaddi is the second-youngest player to play in a FIFA World Cup quarter-final.The youngest is Pelé in 1958 for 🇧🇷 Brazil vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (17 years, 239 days).

Footsteps. pic.twitter.com/VKI7vixsZJ — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 9, 2026 Pele, who is the first and only player to win three FIFA World Cup titles, was 17 years and 239 days old when he played for Brazil in the quarterfinal of the 1958 FIFA World Cup at Ullevi in Gothenburg on June 19. In that fixture, Pele also scored a goal for the South American team in the 66th minute to help them secure a 1-0 win. The goal by Pele in that match also helped him become the youngest goal-scorer in FIFA World Cup history, and the record is still intact. On the other hand, Bouaddi was 18 years and 280 days old on July 9, 2026. In addition to becoming the second-youngest player to feature in a FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match, Bouaddi also became the first-ever African player to make five FIFA World Cup appearances as a teenager. 5 – 🇲🇦 Morocco’s Ayyoub Bouaddi tonight becomes the first ever African player to make five FIFA World Cup appearances as a teenager.Historic.

pic.twitter.com/Tdyh4ePfgU — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 9, 2026 After making his FIFA World Cup debut for Morocco against Brazil on June 13, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, Bouaddi also played for Morocco in the second Group C match against Scotland at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on June 19. Ayyoub Bouaddi in FIFA World Cup 2026 AGAINST MATCH TYPE MINUTES PLAYED VENUE DATE Brazil Group C Full match MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford June 13 Scotland Group C Full match Gillette Stadium, Foxborough June 19 Netherlands Round of 32 79 minutes Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe June 29 Canada Round of 16 63 minutes NRG Stadium, Houston July 4 France Quarterfinal 62 minutes Gillette Stadium, Foxborough July 9 He wasn’t part of Morocco’s starting XI against Haiti and neither came on as a substitute. He then played for Morocco in the Round of 32 and Round of 16 matches against the Netherlands and Canada as well before starting in the quarterfinal. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Harshit Bisht Senior Sub-editor Harshit Bisht is a sports journalist at CNN-News18, where he has been covering cricket, football, and major sporting events from around the world since July 1, 2024.