Dallas (United States) (AFP) – He has been repeatedly written off as too small and skinny, but Elijah Just has now emerged as a World Cup star after his two clinical goals made New Zealand football history. The 26-year-old combined to deadly effect with striker Chris Wood in Monday’s lively 2-2 draw with Iran in Los Angeles. Just gave New Zealand — who came into the tournament as the lowest-ranked team — a surprise lead after seven minutes. Skipper and Nottingham Forest forward Wood teed him up, and Just transferred the ball neatly from his left foot to his right, before smashing it past goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.
Iran levelled before half-time, but Just linked up with Wood once more to put the Kiwis within sight of a historic first World Cup win. The slight Just, who is listed as 1.74m (5ft 8ins) tall, was the first New Zealand man to score twice in a World Cup match. Back came Iran for a second time as the Group G encounter, which took place in a politically charged atmosphere because of the Middle East war, ended in stalemate. “It’s difficult to put into words, I was just buzzing to score the first and then I got the opportunity in the second half and I saw it in the back of the net, it was an incredible feeling,” said Just, who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Motherwell in Scotland’s top tier. “Running over and seeing my team-mates and how happy they were — that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
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Coached by the Englishman Darren Bazeley, New Zealand are at their first World Cup in 16 years. In their two previous appearances, in 1982 and 2010, they failed to win a match. That wait for a landmark first World Cup win goes on, but Just warned that, while tougher assignments await against Egypt and Belgium, New Zealand can spring a shock. “If people were surprised, maybe they have not been following because we have such a talented group and we work really hard,” said Just, whose parents, brother, and uncle were there to witness his two-goal performance.
Although he is yet to reach his peak years, Just has already played for teams in five different countries. He started in New Zealand domestic football, then had a stint in the Netherlands at youth level, and later played in Denmark and Austria. Last summer, he joined Motherwell, where he shone with seven goals and eight assists in 43 games in his first season. Motherwell captain Paul McGinn recalled the first time he saw Just. “I looked at him and thought, ‘Scottish football? You could be in bother here!’,” he said. McGinn quickly learnt he was wrong, calling Just “absolutely brilliant.” “When you look at a player like that, a guy who is diminutive and left-footed, you think he’s a flair player. But he’s not. He’s a grafter, he works his socks off.”
Just’s well-taken double against Iran made it 11 goals in 45 appearances for New Zealand. In a country where rugby and cricket dominate, and Wood is easily the best-known footballer, even national media were left asking Tuesday: “Who is Elijah Just?” According to Radio New Zealand, he is of Chinese descent through his mother and is described as humble and unassuming. Stuff, a leading news organization in New Zealand, cited the chairman of an academy saying that his heroics were a lesson to “nearly every small, skinny little nine-year-old who gets pushed around on the field.”
Just’s impressive debut season with Motherwell propelled him into the PFA Scotland Premiership Team of the Year, and his display in Los Angeles could see him on the move again. BBC pundit and former England striker Chris Sutton said Just had been so good that he had “added a couple of zeroes” to his transfer value. The Scottish Sun tabloid has reported that Glasgow giants Rangers and Celtic could both swoop for him.
© 2024 AFP
