The transfers of Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille to Manchester City for 100 million euros (85.6m pounds, $117m) and France winger Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain to Liverpool for a total of 145 million euros (124m pounds, $167m) captured many headlines.

Manchester City moved for Bouaddi after selling Spain's World Cup winning captain Rodri to Barcelona and Tijjani Reijnders to Al-Qadsiah, with Nico Gonzalez also poised to leave the Etihad.

France vs Morocco Score, FIFA World Cup 2026 Updates: Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele slammed a goal each to fire France to victory in their quarter-final clash against Morocco.

Canada vs Morocco LIVE Score, FIFA World Cup 2026 Highlights: A second-half goal fest powered Morocco to a 3-0 victory over Canada in their FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash in Houston, setting up a potential quarter-final showdown against France.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament, just a week in, has produced not just one breakout midfielder, but three.

Less than three months ago, Ayyoub Bouaddi was captaining France's Under-21 side in a European Championship qualifier.