A young Edmonton footballer will be lacing up his cleats next month in the world’s biggest sporting event. The Tunisian national men’s team named Rayan Elloumi to its final 26-man roster last week for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is being staged in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The 18-year-old forward found out he made the squad on Friday morning while in his hotel room in Houston, where his Vancouver Whitecaps FC of North America’s Major League Soccer were set to play the host Dynamo FC the next night. At the time, he was trying to watch a livestream of the Tunisian announcement but couldn’t find it on his phone. “I was kind of losing my head because I couldn’t find it,” Elloumi told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday. “I was so nervous, so I was like, ‘Nah, I’m going to put my phone down,’ and I’m just praying. Then my dad called me, and my whole family was on the phone, and they’re all just going crazy.” Elloumi, the youngest of four children whose parents who hail from Tunisia, was born in St. Albert and grew up in Edmonton. He played youth soccer in the city – with Juventus SC, Edmonton BTB SC and with the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy Centre in Edmonton – and attended Harry Ainlay High School before moving to British Columbia two years ago to join the Whitecaps FC Academy. Elloumi signed a contract with the MLS squad in September. He made his international debut in January for Canada but decided to switch to Tunisia in March. “It’s a crazy, unique kind of situation. Obviously, my parents came from Tunisia, and I have a lot of love and passion for them,” Elloumi said. “I think the coolest thing was when I was playing in Toronto (in a Tunisian friendly vs. Canada), and I got to see how really passionate the (Tunisian) fans were, how much they care, and how much they love to watch their team play, and at the same time, I grew up in Canada, and the World Cup is here.” And while he’s toiling internationally for a different country, Elloumi says he wouldn’t have been able to achieve his soccer dreams without the support and training he received in his Canadian hometown. He recalled being sent home to Edmonton aged 14, disappointed “a little bit” after not making the Whitecaps Academy roster in B.C. because “it’s every kid’s dream.” “The coaches back at Edmonton, they had my back,” Elloumi said. “They said, ‘Listen, we believe in you. We know how hard you work,. You know what you’re capable of. Just keep working.’ And next year, I made it when I was 15 years old, and now I’m here playing for the first team, so it’s really incredible.” Tunisia opens its Group F World Cup schedule on June 14 vs. Sweden in Monterrey, Mexico. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nahreman Issa
