French football believed it had found a new star with the emergence of Elias Ben Seghir at AS Monaco, but the young talent chose a different path, opting to represent his ancestral home, Morocco.
Elias, born in 2005 in the town of Gassin, France, made headlines at the age of 17 years and 315 days when he became the second youngest player to score a brace in the French Ligue 1, a record only surpassed by Thierry Henry.
Growing up in a Moroccan family with roots in Tinghir, southeast Morocco, his passion for football was nurtured by his father, who gifted him his first jersey when he was just four years old.
Ben Seghir began his football journey at the age of five with the Cogolino Academy before moving to Saint-Raphaël.
In 2022, he signed his first professional contract with AS Monaco.
Despite his success with France’s youth teams, Elias made the bold decision to switch allegiance to Morocco ahead of the 2024 Olympics, declining an invitation from French coach Thierry Henry.
His decision paid off as he helped the Moroccan team secure a historic bronze medal at the games.
Following this achievement, Morocco’s head coach, Walid Regragui, called up Elias to join the senior national team.
The young forward quickly established himself as a key attacking asset, participating in five matches and scoring four goals during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
His standout performance included a memorable brace against the Central African Republic in a match held in Oujda.
Recently, Elias was handpicked by Lionel Messi to be part of a global advertising campaign for Adidas, joining the ranks of other rising stars like Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.
This recognition further cements Ben Seghir’s status as one of the brightest young talents in world football, marking him as a player to watch on the global stage.
Algeria women hit Central African Republic for eight in Olympic qualifying Oct 10, 2026
