Amine El Ouazzani – EA Guingamp's towering attacking force
Amine El Ouazzani is on the cusp of a rapid rise to prominence as the 21-year-old started this season as the top scorer in the Championnat National which is the French 3rd Division for Football Bourg-en-Bresse Péronnas 01 before EA Guingamp made the shrewd decision to acquire his services in November. In less than six months, he has become a starter for the club and already accrued 5 goals as another club at a higher level signing him in the summer may not be out of the question. The young striker has played for Morocco at U23 level as he was born in Grenoble, France, to an Algerian mother and a Moroccan father. For his former club, he played 51 games, scoring 10 goals and notching 5 assists in three years at the club.
El Ouazzani has a robust and well-built physique as he stands six-feet and two inches tall while he has strong mobility and technique for such a towering striker. He constantly drops deep to receive possession in between the lines, laying off to teammates while he can also make runs into the channels, using his physique to hold the ball up and play the ball to teammates. The 21-year-old is very strong at carrying the ball into open space, being able to turn and drive the ball with purpose before releasing possession to teammates. He is strong in the air, constantly beating defenders in duels while he can use his head to lay-off the ball as he can also receive and re-direct crosses at the back post or in the centre of the box. El Ouazzani is left-footed as he can make runs to the near post to finish with one-touch, either with his head or his feet or he can receive possession in or around the box, dribbling into a yard of space to have a shot on goal. He tends to also be a selfless striker as he can thread progressive passes forward from deep or play neat combinations around the box to create opportunities for teammates.
Away to FC Annecy, he made a run into the channels to receive possession during a counter-attack, driving the ball forward on the outside of his left boot, cutting into the centre to slalom past a glut of players as he spread the ball to the opposite flank. When he cut into the centre, he could have released the ball to a teammate in the box as he received possession in the nine-space in his own half to lay-off the ball to a teammate. After a turnover, he received possession while he was playing in the ten space, threading a perfectly weighted through ball to the right flank for a teammate to surge into the box and square a cross that was deflected in for a goal. El Ouazzani also possesses an unyielding reserve of energy which makes him strong at applying pressure on the ball and also in counter-pressure situations as he chased down a clearance, hassling two centre-backs before forcing a turnover, using his body to hold them off as he attempted a cut-back that was just in front of his teammate.
Moments later, he received possession once more, lofting a cross into the box which was deflected out before he chased down another loose pass into the left channel, holding possession and cutting inside to lay-off a pass for a defender. El Ouazzani made a run into the right channel to receive possession, holding up the ball and laying off for a teammate in a situation which led to a cross. The 21-year-old made a circular run but did not move into the box as this is one of the weaknesses of his game as in certain situations, he will work connections in the wide areas and the channels and not move into a goalscoring space to have an opportunity on goal. The young striker could have made a movement to the top of the box to receive a cut-back or to the near post where he could have had a high-quality shooting opportunity.
After a turnover in the defensive phase, a direct pass was played to El Ouazzani who played a right-footed lay-off for a teammate before making a run into the nine-space to instigate a counter-attacking move. He moved into the nine-space to receive a flick-on, heading the ball to the flank for a cross as a teammate sent a header wide at the back-post. The Moroccan attacker made a run in behind to receive a pass in the left channel, driving into the box where he had a cut-back deflected away from goal by the goalkeeper. After a turnover from an opposition corner, he received possession in the nine-space, surging forward with possession to work a pass for a teammate on the right flank. The attacker received possession after a turnover in the opposition half to drive the ball forward, surging into the box before cutting back and working a pass for a teammate in the half-space.
In a situation where the ball was played to the left flank, El Ouazzani was making a run into the box but he stopped his feet and moved away from the goal which meant that he was not in a shooting position. In these situations, it is integral that he does not move away from goal as he should stop his feet and change direction, possibly with a run to the near post or stopping his feet and holding his position while the defenders continue moving to earn a yard of space, occupying a better space to have an opportunity on goal. In another situation, the 21-year-old showed an over-reliance on his left-foot to shoot as he made a run in behind to receive possession, having a 1v1 with the centre-back as he could have cut onto his right foot to shoot but he drove the ball with his left away from goal, turning a shooting opportunity into a crossing opportunity as he still managed to lob a delivery into the box. In these situations, he needs to shift the ball onto his right foot to shoot at goal as he when he is prodding the ball forward with his right foot, he has the ability to switch to his left and shoot.
El Ouazzani dropped out of the nine-space to lay the ball off to a teammate as the attacker was position on the right flank, controlled a flicked-on goal-kick perfectly with the outside of his right boot before using his body to shield the ball and drawing a foul in the opposition half. In the latter stages of the game, he made a run from the right flank to the nine-space as the ball was not played to him. Late in the game, he made another near post run from the right flank, tucking into the centre, recognizing a pocket of space as he surged to the near post to receive a low cross, redirecting the ball at goal with his left foot for a save from the goalkeeper. He started the home game against Valenciennes FC with another near post run as he was occupying an opposition centre-back, positioned on his blind-side, making a run to the near post as the centre-back was drawn towards the ball as a cross was played across the face of goal as the 21-year-old could not get a touch on the delivery.
The young striker would regain another loose pass behind the opposition defence, using his body to shield the ball from a defender and firing a shot over the bar. El Ouazzani would have a moment where he made a run in behind, receiving a lofted pass from a teammate, showing strong acceleration outmuscle his marker as the goalkeeper prevented him from having an opportunity on goal. The young striker is very good at chasing lost causes and can use these situations to force mistakes and create shooting opportunities for himself. He dropped deep to flick-on a pass to the nine-space, receiving a lay-off to work a pass into the left channel for a runner. He utilized another flick-on from a lobbed pass before making a run into the nine-space, moving in between the two centre-backs, running towards the penalty spot, as he received a lobbed cross at the back-post, tracking the ball and winning a header to force a saved from the goalkeeper.
El Ouazzani had another moment where he showed his expertise at running in behind, making a well-timed run to receive an early lobbed pass but his poor first touch denied him the opportunity to create a shooting situation for himself. The 21-year-old poses a threat in running in behind as he has the acceleration to surge in behind while being able to hold off his centre-back as he can also drop deep and combine while he is also strong in the air. The Moroccan has also shown a potential for moving into goalscoring situations in the box as he made a movement to the top of the box, adjusting to the near post before backing into a pocket of space and moving towards the back-post, finding a pocket of space in the centre of the box but the delivery was not played to him. He had another moment where he occupied a pocket of space in between two defenders, scanning and identifying a pocket of space as he moved towards the penalty spot before making a run towards the back-post and circling into a pocket of space near the six-yard area as the ball was not played to him again.
After a deflection from a corner, El Ouazzani received possession on the right flank, surging into the opposition half before cutting back and playing the ball to a teammate. The 21-year-old is a multi-faceted attacker, but it seems that his bread and butter could be near post runs as his strike partner received possession and played the ball to the flank as El Ouazzani recognized a pocket of space and made a dart to the near post, but the delivery was blocked. The Moroccan has a terrific sense of space and openings in making runs to the near post while he has the height and physicality to trouble defenders at the back-post as well. In terms of his strength, he received possession in the nine-space, controlling the ball and working a one-two with a teammate to make a run into the right channel as he used his strength to barge over a centre-back in a situation where he was penalized for a foul. He received a flick-on from a goal-kick to lay-off for a teammate.
El Ouazzani played a one-touch pass on the half-turn to the nine-space before making a run from the central spaces to the right channel, holding possession and playing the ball to a teammate. He received possession after a turnover in the defensive phase, driving the ball forward before working a one-two with a teammate and having a cross blocked. The attacker then had a tame header saved from a corner before receiving possession in the deeper areas, swiveling to drive the ball forward and spread a pass to the flank for a cross into the box as another headed opportunity was blocked. In a counter-attacking situation, the 21-year-old would stride into the box at the back-post as the ball was being driven forward on the opposite flank as El Ouazzani occupied his defender’s blind-side as he moved towards the penalty area before scanning and backing into a pocket of space at the back-post for a cross which was held by the goalkeeper. El Ouazzani eventually notched a goal, receiving possession on the right flank, controlling the ball with his right foot before shifting possession to his left, curling a strike past the goalkeeper from range to score.
At home to Dijon, he won an aerial duel in midfield to play the ball to a teammate. The 21-year-old moved into the right half-space to receive possession with his back to goal, laying off for a teammate to surge into the box and have a shooting opportunity. After a turnover from a throw-in in the opposition half, he dropped back to win possession and lay the ball off as he received the ball with his back to goal to play another lay-off. In a counter-attacking situation, he was positioned in the nine-space, making a movement to the back-post as his teammate was striding forward before turning and making a movement into a pocket of space in between two centre-backs as he made a movement into the box to isolate a defender as a cross was played just in front of him. El Ouazzani won another aerial duel to lay-off the ball to a teammate as in a counter-attacking situation, he made a surging run to the nine-space, to receive a low cross, guiding the ball past the goalkeeper with an impeccable one-touch finish.
El Ouazzani made another run in behind, using his body to shield the ball as he cut-back and lost possession before pushing forward to make a block in the counter-press. The 21-year-old can make intelligent runs to the near post but there are situations where he does not show enough intent in bursting into the box. The ball was switched to the right flank as El Ouazzani was positioned in between the opposition left-back and centre-back as he was positioned on the defender’s blind-side as he did not surge into the box to meet a cross, instead holding his run and trudging to the top of the box. He received possession on the counter-attack to drive the ball into open space before working a pass to a teammate as he moved to the back-post, looking to ghost into the box for a delivery that was astray. The young attacker received possession in between the lines, holding the ball before spreading a pass to the flank. He received possession in the left half-space, to hold off a defender and swivel out of a challenge before laying off the ball to a teammate as he also dropped deep to regain possession and thread a through ball to the left flank. Defensively, he chased down an attacker to win a tackle on the right flank.
El Ouazzani is already a force to be reckoned with as a striker as he possesses the ability to drop deep and combine play while also having the ability to stretch the opposition with runs in behind. The 21-year-old can remain onside while using his acceleration to run onto through balls as his strength allows him to hold-off defenders as this will be key in generating shooting opportunities as well as running into the channels to string together attacking moves. He is intelligent at recognizing space at the near post to make near post runs, especially towards the right-side of the box as his left foot will be his front and he can receive low crosses to finish with his first touch. The young striker poses a threat at both the front post and the back-post as he has no issue in navigating the box and making late moves to the back-post to receive high deliveries to re-direct opportunities at goal. He has an impeccable sense for tracking high balls as he is comfortable in finishing on the ground and in the air.
Defensively, he is astute at pressing the ball, having the energy and burst to push forward and put pressure on the centre-backs while he can also move into the wide areas to track fullbacks as if he leads the press, he is capable of covering large swathes of space. He can also chase down lost causes, applying pressure on defenders to force turnovers and create opportunities for himself and teammates. In the counter-press, he is quick at reacting, being able to drop deep to attack a player’s blind-side and recover possession for his team as he can also chase down opposition player’s over long distances. If possession is lost within the opposition box, he can push forward to make tackles and blocks to regain possession or force long balls. In counter-attacking moves, he is capable of receiving possession and driving the ball into open space to lead breaking situations while he can play the ball to teammates and work connections to push his side forward.
He will need to improve in creating more shooting opportunities for himself by showing more desire to move into goalscoring situations, especially when he is working connections in the deeper areas or the wide areas, he will usually hold his runs instead of making runs into the box to get into goalscoring situations. Some of these issues stem from playing in a two-striker system as his strike partner could be occupying a position in the box as El Ouazzani will be unsure of whether to make a run off him or hold his position at the top of the box for a cut-back. He needs to attack the open spaces in these situations, especially the near post as he is has already shown an intelligence for occupying a defender’s blind-side, making runs into the box and navigating spaces in the box. He can generate a lot of chances for himself from passing combinations in releasing the ball and making runs into space.
El Ouazzani has all the requisite tools to be a striker at the highest level of European football as his current contract lasts until 2026 as he is unlikely to see it through. With the ballooning prices of strikers in the modern-day market, it would be shrewd for teams to attempt to acquire him as soon as this summer as it plausible that he has a sharp rise in the coming year. Serie A would be a good league for him as teams like Lazio, Udinese, Sassuolo, Bologna, Fiorentina, Monza, Torino and Lecce would be good moves for him. Watford could sign him and loan him to Udinese in the interim while AC Milan would also be a good landing spot for him with Olivier Giroud being 36-years-old, Zlatan Ibrahimovic being 41 and Divick Origi being 27-years-old. In La Liga, Villareal, Real Betis, Celta Vigo, Cadiz and Sevilla would also be good moves for him. In the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim, Borussia Monchengladbach, Mainz, Union Berlin and Freiburg would be good landing spots for him. He could be a long-term replacement for Brentford as they could sign him and loan him out while he could also be an option for Brighton and Hove Albion as he could be an option for teams that are willing to sign him and loan him to another club. El Ouazzani could be a player to watch in the summer as he is set for a marked rise in the next year as he could also gain exposure in the in the upcoming African Cup of Nations in 2024 for a strong Moroccan side.
