Anaïs Ebayilin’s rapid rise from Pierrefitte to a France debut at 18 | OneFootball

PSG midfielder Anaïs Ebayilin, 18, made her France debut on Tuesday in Ireland, a 2-1 win, a decade after starting club football.

L'Équipe reports that coaches from Pierrefitte and Sarcelles chart a whirlwind ascent. They recall an R1 U14 match against ACBB when she scored, then went in goal after a keeper error to see out a decisive win.

She arrived at Pierrefitte FC aged nine after school leader Marine Ghouil urged her parents to try a club. With evening travel difficult, Ghouil drove her to and from sessions.

Technical lead Guillaume Lopes regarded her as above the boys she played with, noting powerful footwork, two feet and courage in the air, matched by drive and graft. At Sarcelles, Sofian Camara handed her the armband with the U14 boys in R2, praising leadership and backbone, while acknowledging her emotional side.

She later played R1, and coach Abé Coulibaly highlighted her physical presence, standing 1.67 m, and timing that delivered regular headers. After four years at Pierrefitte, from 2016 to 2020, she joined AAS Sarcelles in 2020 to 2022, though she mostly featured with the U14 boys.

PSG signed her in 2022. After a U19 season under Grégory Benarib and Paulo César, she stepped up in 2023-24, was badly injured early the next, then returned and impressed, earning a first cap at 18 years and 2 months from Laurent Bonadei.

For her, a senior call is not an end in itself, the goal is to stay and pursue extraordinary achievements.

Source: L'Équipe