“The student”: How is Ayyoub Bouaddi (LOSC) perceived internationally?

The famous British daily newspaper The Guardian presented the 1,248 players competing in the 2026 World Cup. This is a great opportunity to see how LOSC internationals are perceived outside our borders. What about Ayyoub Bouaddi?

The twenty-third edition of the World Cup is in full swing on the North American continent. The atmosphere there is incandescent, when you have to know not to sleep to adapt to the match schedules when you are just simple Europeans.

To introduce this 2026 World Cup and put the world on an equal footing at its start, the British daily
The Guardian produced the presentation of the 1248 participating players. Eight in number (Ayyoub Bouaddi, Nabil Bentaleb and Aïssa Mandi, Chancel Mbemba and Ngal’ayel Mukau, Matias Fernandez-Pardo, Nathan Ngoy and Thomas Meunier), the LOSC internationals were also entitled to their portrait. After Nabil Bentaleb and Thomas Meunier, two individuals to whom we have already returned, place Ayyoub Bouaddi.

The student of the Mondial

Morocco, semi-finalist of the last edition of the World Cup, the one which animated our winter in 2022, is preparing to enter the fray. It will be during the night from Saturday to Sunday, at midnight sharp, against Brazil. This is a particularly difficult obstacle for the Atlas Lions, who can count on the talented Ayyoub Bouaddi (18 years old) to contribute to their exploits. But how, after three seasons (already) in Lille, is he seen?

His portrait… is a bit messy. Or rather, it goes in all directions. Our colleagues simply nickname it
“I’m studying” in their columns, highlighting his victory in the training center eloquence competition on June 5, 2023, as well as the current follow-up of a license in physics and mathematics. The British media calls it
“the most coveted talent in Ligue 1†and recalls his precocity. At the age of 16 years and 3 days, he became the youngest player in history to play in a European competition: the Conference League.

And there again, the compliments are numerous. A
“Sang-froid hors du commun” is emphasized, as much as its capacity “To shine” because of his intelligence on the ground. It is ultimately not for nothing that France and Morocco hoped to be able to count him in their ranks. In the end, they are the Atlas Lions “Who won the battle”ends like this The Guardianadmiring the exploits of the young Lille resident. As a reminder, he is preparing to compete in his very first World Cup at the age of 18.