France-Morocco: Bouaddi makes World Cup history, behind Pelé 👑 | OneFootball

Into the legend.

This Thursday, France and Morocco face off in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup.

As since the start of the tournament, Moroccan wonderkid Ayyoub Bouaddi starts in midfield.

A place in the starting lineup that simply allows him to become the second-youngest player in history to start a World Cup quarterfinal, according to Opta.

At 18 years and 280 days old, the midfielder is surpassed only by King Pelé, who started at 17 years and 239 days for Brazil against Wales at the 1958 World Cup.

Will he shine tonight against Les Bleus?

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 Kevin C. Cox - 2026 Getty Images