At 6ft 3ins, Malik Jakupovic is used to hitting the heights. The forward did so in glorious fashion by finishing as the eight-goal top scorer in Concacaf qualifying and inspiring USA to the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026™.
The 16-year-old, who plays for Philadelphia Union’s reserve team, began with a brace in the 8-0 victory over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which was followed by a five-goal haul in the 10-0 rout of Saint Kitts and Nevis and a strike in the crucial 1-1 draw with Dominican Republic.
What was all the more impressive about the imposing forward’s performance to become the leading goalscorer in regional qualifying was that it was marked by an eye-catching variety of finishes, including two towering headers.
Jakupovic spoke to FIFA about his standout performance in Concacaf qualifying, Major League Soccer ambitions this year and his Bosnian background.
Malik Jakupovic: It means a lot to me. Coming into Concacaf qualifying, I was thinking, ‘How many goals can I score and can I be the top goalscorer?’ Having a USA striker as the top goalscorer means a lot to me.
At a recent tournament in Dubai [in November], I scored four goals – two against England, one against Australia and one against Côte d’Ivoire. I was the top goalscorer and the best player.
I’m really excited. I’m proud of the boys and I can’t wait. We have a couple of months until the World Cup and will try our best to prepare for it. It’s going to be hard, it’s a World Cup and will have the best players in the U-17 competition.
My goal is to make my [first-team] debut. I’m going to try my hardest to get there.
A player I’ve been watching a lot and I would say plays the most like me is Hugo Ekitike. He is a No9 but also plays in the No10 position. He gets the ball at his feet, he can can hold off players and take them on with a dribble too. I would like that style of play.
It’s really important. My type of play is holding off players and using all my strength and height, and also racking up goals with my head, hanging over the centre-backs with my height and scoring headers.
All my family was born in Bosnia and then came to Michigan, and that’s where I was born. At 13, I came to the Union in a residency programme. At first it was hard but now it is pretty easy.
I would say [Edin] Dzeko. I’ve been looking at him my entire life. I try to go to Bosnia once a year, but it’s hard with the MLS seasons to do so.
Right now, I’m planning on sticking with the US. I don’t have any plans on going anywhere else.
Off the field, my hobby is basketball. I’m 6ft 3ins so I kind of have to be good at basketball! I played one year in middle school but that was it.
Photos courtesy of US Soccer
