Abdellah Ouazane is a 16-year-old midfielder in Ajax’s academy who was born in Amsterdam and represents Morocco at youth international level. On their way to winning this tournament, he provided two assists and scored a brace versus Tanzania.
Ouazane is tall for his position (1.83 m) with a mature build for his age, having broad shoulders with notable core strength already. He is surprisingly nimble for his size, used to running with his leggy frame to explode forward on progressive carries with long strides. Ouazane holds off pressure reasonably well with his frame, having the upper-body strength to compete in duels or shield possession. Aerially, he is effective in uncontested headers while being willing to challenge in duels despite not having the dominance expected from his size, yet. In terms of work rate, it is much higher for him when going forward, being a bit passive defending from his midfield line. He puts in marginally more effort when pressing. The Moroccan midfielder must play with more intensity to take advantage of the mobility he has at his size.
On the attack, Ouazane primarily operates as a half winger on the left. He played multiple midfield roles in this tournament, including in holding midfield, but his best role in midfield was operating further forward in the left half space. From there, he does well to flash down the middle channel off ball to link play from line-breaking passes, sometimes drawing a foul, but with his mostly consistent soft first touch and abnormal technical ability on the dribble for his size, he is able to evade closeouts with ease, turning away or cutting inside. From there, he can overdribble due to his confidence in his progressive abilities. Ouazane can linger too long on ball and turn the ball over. That lack of focus on ball retention, outside of his first touch, when linking play in his own half can be quite risky and did leave him at fault on some counters allowed. This risk taking on ball does not stop on the dribble. The progressive mindset he approaches the game with is expansive for his team’s attack, with elite vision and passing range. The execution needs to build consistency, as he can put too much weight on his key passing at times or dribble too ambitiously into a 1v1 when lining up an in swung cross. Looking to break lines, he can do so up the half space/middle via ground (how he set up a goal versus South Africa) or attempts to chip through. Ouazane retains the ball well with his back passing, too, staying calm to not be affected by closeouts when standing on ball. He is comfortably linking play with either, quickly spreading play with long switches. From there he can ground pass incisively, too, continuing counters by hitting trailing runs in stride. Finishing-wise, he does not get deep into the box too often, so distance finishing was a highlight, shooting powerfully from distance. Adding variety to his finishing as an attack-minded midfielder will be essential to maximizing utilization centrally further down the line of his development.
The creative threat Ouazane provided from the left half space combined with his advanced physical traits set the foundation for a highly promising midfielder. His vision, when drifting wide or cutting inside specifically, is the elite trait that separates him from others in his age group. With four goal contributions in the competition, he is clearly a budding star for Morocco. With Ajax to nourish his development at club level, the sky is the limit for his potential. I see him as a weekly starter in the top five leagues in a few years.
Target Scouting 