What do we have in common: Heung-min Son, Toni Kroos, Phil Foden, Neymar, Marquinhos, Pedri, Victor Osimhen or even Aurélien Tchouaméni? They all participated at the start of their young careers at the U17 World Cup. This 2023 edition, the quarter-finals of which are currently being contested, still offers its share of great talents. Among them is Mohamed Zine El Abidine Hamony in a good position. At the age of 17, this vibrant Moroccan attacking midfielder has been making a name for himself since the start of the competition and has been key in the progress of Morocco, which is still qualified and will play its quarter-final this Saturday at 1 p.m. against Mali.
A brilliant U17 World Cup for Hamony with Morocco
Born in Casablanca to a Moroccan mother and a Guadeloupean father, Hamony arrived in Rouen at the age of 11. After two years where he had to learn to speak French and adapt to his new environment at QRM, where he spent a season, he arrived at HAC at the age of 13 to continue his studies at the training center. It didn’t take long for the trainers of the senior club to notice the extraordinary talent of the player, who already has an explosiveness and a technique which allow him to make incredible differences with the ball. Covered by the Norman club, Hamony mastered the French language better and better, continued his adolescence in a club accustomed to training great players (Paul Pogba, Riyad Mahrez or Ferland Mendy in particular) and continues to play today with the U19s. Le Havre. He also revealed himself during the last CAN U17, where he started the competition as a substitute before becoming a starter throughout the tournament, notably during the defeat in the final against Senegal, during which he was very good.
If Le Havre has very specific plans for its Moroccan hope, the U17 World Cup carried out by Mohamed Hamony turns everything upside down. It must be said that his performances do not go unnoticed. After having already been awarded the man of the match trophy during his debut in the tournament against Panama (2-0) on November 10, he distinguished himself by scoring a goal and making life a real nightmare to his opponent on his left side during the victory which sealed his country’s qualification against Indonesia (3-1), on November 16. An outstanding dribbler, Mohamed Hamony finished the group stage in second place for the highest number of successful dribbles per match (4.3) with a success percentage of 76%.
Big clubs ready to get him back at the end of his aspiring contract with Le Havre
As a result, Le Havre, whose popularity has continued to grow since the start of the competition, is the subject of much desire. According to our information, Ajax Amsterdam, VFB Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund are very interested in the explosive profile of the player with immense room for improvement and who has been the real custodian of his team’s play in Indonesia since the start of world Cup. In France, Olympique Lyonnais also took some information.
And Le Havre in all this? If the Moroccan did not fail to thank his training club in an interview given to the FIFA website a few days ago, he is nonetheless at the end of his aspiring contract next June. A contractual situation that Mathieu Bodmer and Le Havre could quickly regret. As for the main person concerned, he is focused on the U17 World Cup and is setting big goals between now and the end of the competition. “God willing, I will score more goals and I will continue to improve in each match. My goal is simple: I want to become the best player in this World Cup. But to achieve this goal, you have to work hard., he explained before returning to France and playing with the professional team in Le Havre. Mohamed Hamony, who has already participated in some professional training with Luka Elsner, can in any case hope so…
