Bouaddi and Maza shortlisted for the Kopa Trophy — The National
Moroccan Ayyoub Bouaddi and Algerian Ibrahim Maza have been shortlisted for the 2026 Kopa Trophy, an award for the world’s best footballer under the age of 21. Bouaddi is one of 10 nominees. The National reports on the performances of five young players from the Middle East and North Africa after the World Cup.
Bouaddi and Maza at European clubs
18-year-old Bouaddi moved from Lille to Manchester City for €100 million. He made his debut for the English club against Crystal Palace and completed 54 of 55 passes in his first Champions League start against Porto. City won that match 2-0.
The midfielder also assisted Rayan Cherki in the League Cup match against Norwich, which ended in a 5-0 Manchester City win. Bouaddi was called up to Morocco’s national team for Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Gabon and Lesotho.
20-year-old Maza provided an assist in Bayer’s 2-3 defeat to Elversberg. A week later, he was named player of the match against Union Berlin, in which the Leverkusen club won 4-0. After missing the Europa League match against Celje due to illness, the Algerian played in the 2-0 win over RB Leipzig and started the move that ended with Miguel Gutiérrez’s goal. His contract with Bayer runs until 2030.
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National team call-ups and a disciplinary decision
Egyptian Hamza Abdelkarim became the first Egyptian to play in an official match for Barcelona’s first team in August. He spent four minutes on the pitch in the match against Rayo Vallecano. The forward extended his contract with the Catalan club until 2030, while his release clause exceeded €100 million. Abdelkarim was also called up to Egypt’s national team for Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.
Tunisian Rayan Elloumi scored for the Vancouver Whitecaps in matches against the Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City, but is competing for playing time with first-choice striker Brian White. He was included in Tunisia’s squad for Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Uganda and Botswana.
Al-Qadsiah midfielder Musab Al-Juwayr was excluded from the Saudi Arabia national team’s training camp in Jeddah ahead of the Gulf Arab Cup. National team executive director Fahad Al-Mufarrij said the reason was a repeated disciplinary violation following a verbal warning. For Al-Qadsiah, Al-Juwayr started all seven matches of the season and provided two assists.
