Ndjicoura Bomba is a 17-year-old striker who plays for Mali U-17.
The thing that immediately stands out about Bomba is that he is tall, strong, and fast. Bomba is around 6’2/1.88M with a very strong build for a teenager. Bomba is completely dominant in the air against his age group peers. This made him a great pressure release valve for Mali as he was basically guaranteed to win flick-ons off of long balls. It also made him a huge threat in the box. Now, a player born in the first three months of the year who is dominant physically is the sort of player you need to view a bit skeptically in U-17 tournaments. But I think Bomba has enough skill that he is still interesting. Bomba makes great off-the-ball runs in behind defences and into the box and that leads to a lot of shots from high-danger locations. Bomba is very fast for how big he is, making him a major threat on runs in behind. Bomba did show a little bit of clumsiness in front of goal and missed some chances due to poor shot execution. However, I don’t think this tournament is a big enough sample size to make any firm comments on the quality of his finishing and he got so many chances for himself that it didn’t really matter. Still, this is something to keep an eye on as he transitions to senior football. Bomba is not a particularly sophisticated dribbler but his pace and power do make him capable of pushing the ball past players into space. Bomba is quite a strong passer. He makes good decisions in transition and has good vision.
Bomba’s physicality makes him a strong defender. He closes opponents down very effectively and you can feel the nervousness he inspires in defenders as he gets close to them. Bomba’s height makes him an effective defender on set pieces. He is not at all shy of contact and never backs out of a physical challenge. However, Bomba did show a little bit of indiscipline. In this final against Morocco, he got visibly frustrated with the referee and was booked for dissent. On almost the next play he absolutely clattered an opponent and was quite lucky to stay on the pitch. It’s not surprising that an inexperienced player on an international stage for the first time would succumb to the pressure. But, again, it’s something to watch for in the future.
Bomba’s elite physical profile and strong technical skills mark him as a player with very high potential. He looks like the sort of striker who pops up in Denmark or Austria, scores a stupid number of goals, and gets himself a move to a top-5 league.
Target Scouting 