Frenchman Yacine Adli was on the field for 58 minutes in the Group-E opener against New Caledonia here on Sunday. Though he and Amine Gouiri spent nearly an hour each at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, less than many players who started, they played a bigger role in the team’s huge win.
More than Amine, it was Yacine, an attacking midfielder, who put out a stand-out show. Each of his three assists stood out for its tactical nous and vision.
First, the 17-year-old ran past Richard Titouan and Iwa Bernard in one sweep, engaged in a combination with Maxence Caqueret, before executing a precise final pass to Amine.
Then, Yacine, from the right, deftly passed it to Amine, enough for the latter to toe-poke into the goal.
The third one was selfless in a way, but it took New Caledonia by surprise. Off a cross from Andy Pelmard, Yacine had the angle to for the header, but he headed it to Maxence.
Born in a suburb of Vitry-sur-Seine in Paris, Yacine joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) youth academy from US Villejuif in 2013. Since then, it’s been a journey of more ups than downs.
Considered a part of a strong generation of young PSG players, which includes Dan-Axel Zagadou, Claudio Gomes, Antoine Bernede, Moussa Diaby and Timothy Weah, among others. Yacine has been going from strength to strength. He was one of the best players for France in the 2017 European Under-17 Championship.
Aware of his growing potential, clubs in Bundesliga are keen to have his services, but Yacine has said he’s happy to be with PSG at the moment.
With players of the calibre of Neymar and Edinson Cavani in the PSG senior side, Yacine would have learnt and imbibed a lot by training with and watching them. “Yes. I have trained a bit with them in the past. They are the best players in the world,” he said.
Lionel Rouxel, the France coach, said the idea of playing Yacine for 58 minutes was to preserve him. “He has the talent to go all the way. He is a good boy, got the game and the mentality. He can do what many others can’t do,” he said.