13-Year-Old Belgian Prodigy Breaks National Team Age Record in U15 Debut

Summoned by coach Arno Van den Abbeel for this match, Ilyes Bennane, has become at 13 years and 1 month the youngest player to make his international debut in the U15 category, breaking the precocity record of Romelu Lukaku who made his debut in this category at 14 years and 9 months. "Normally, we don’t do overclassing, let alone double overclassing at this age, but Ilyes has the technique and vision of the game to manage to play well," said Roland Breugelmans, director of training at Genk, to La Dernière Heure.

The Belgian club was surprised by Ilyes’ call-up to the U15s, but gave its approval after discussing it with his parents. "It’s a great reward for him and it shows how talented he is. I first saw him play when he was 9 years old. I’ve known a lot of great promises during my career, but I was blown away. For me, he’s the greatest Belgian talent. Maybe even the greatest talent in Europe," said Jelle Van Damme.

Of Moroccan origin, Ilyes, born near Verviers, has been attracting the interest of several clubs since his debut at Eupen in 2016 at the age of 5. In this club, he was immediately overclassed in U8, before joining the U10 of Standard two years later, in 2018. The following season, at the age of 9, he joined the Genk team, which is doing everything to secure its prodigy. The young player is courted by Lille, Ajax and even Real Madrid, which "wanted to invite him to a week of training." "All the scouts in Europe know him... In addition to being brilliant on the field, Ilyes works well in school," says Van Damme.

Several renowned brands like Nike, Adidas and Puma have also competed for the young player who has finally preferred Nike. Of Moroccan parents, Ilyes Bennane has also been invited for a training camp with the Moroccan U15s in March. "He will go there. He will decide what he wants at that level when he wants to," Breugelmans said. And Van Damme added: "But one thing is certain: if all goes well, he will have a hell of a career (sic) like Lukaku or Hazard. He has the talent, he has the hunger and he is well surrounded by his parents and his older brother. All the lights are green."