'Hopefully my agent will be pretty busy': All Whites star weighs next move

By Michael Burgess in Vancouver

All Whites sensation Elijah Just doesn’t know what the future holds – but he has ambitions to go as far as possible in football, maybe even to the English Premier League.

The winger was one of the revelations of this tournament, with his superb incisive play, decision-making, confidence on the ball, and three superbly taken goals.

A relative unknown ahead of this tournament – certainly on a global level - he was one of the breakout stars of the group phase, with a series of head-turning moments.

The Motherwell star has already been linked with a switch to Celtic or Rangers – along with other English clubs and a move this European summer seems a certainty.

Just hasn’t been in touch with his agent since before the tournament, as he purposely wanted to avoid any distractions, but those discussions will begin soon.

“Hopefully my agent will be pretty busy,” Just said, in a considerable understatement.

The Herald understands there has already been interest expressed from top clubs in France, while he is being tracked by a number of British teams. That’s what happens when you perform on such a stage and Just is hungry for more.

“The World Cup has given me added belief and also motivation to keep pushing,” Just said in a post-tournament interview in the team hotel.

“There was a point in my career, one or two years ago, where I wasn’t quite sure what level I was going to be. I was a little bit stuck and maybe plateaued a little bit, so now you have a little bit of a new energy and new belief. I definitely want to test myself see how far I can go.

“It’s something that everybody wants to do. Coming here gave me a taste of playing against top, top players. So we’ll see what happens.”

Just will return to Scotland on Monday (NZT). He will have a week off, before rejoining his Motherwell teammates in pre-season training.

“I’m looking forward to seeing all my pals, meeting the new coach,” Just said.

The Scottish Premiership team have a home-and-away series against a Faroe Islands club in Europa Conference League qualifying at the end of July, though it seems unlikely that the New Zealander will be involved, with negotiations expected to heat up in the coming weeks.

He has been noticed everywhere, with stories in the big worldwide media outlets, amid effusive praise.

Even in the wreckage of Saturday’s 5-1 defeat to Belgium, Just was on another level to most of his teammates, as he glided past defenders and had New Zealand’s best two opportunities, scoring once.

It’s been a crazy fortnight. His phone has been blowing up, with a lot of people congratulating him and a lot of new fans.

His standing was illustrated after the final whistle, when Belgian defender Brandon Mechele – who has played more than 400 matches for Club Brugge – approached the Kiwi to ask for his shirt, a rare scenario for a New Zealander without the surname Wood.

Although Just had told the Herald before the tournament he felt at his peak, he has still surprised himself with the level that he reached.

“Absolutely,” Just said. “I came in with not low expectations, but you don’t know what to expect, the first time being in a World Cup.

“I just had such a good time trying to have as much fun as possible throughout the games and all the boys deserve plaudits for how hard they worked. I’m the one sitting here with the headlines for the goals but a lot of people played really well.”

Yes, others impressed but Just was the standout, right from the early goal against Iran, which set the tone.

“When you start the first game with a goal in seven minutes, it gives you so much confidence,” Just said.

“That’s something that everyone in football’s chasing. So I carried that throughout the games, trying to do my best, play my game, not let the pressure and the occasion get to me.”

Eli Just scores his first goal against Iran. Photo/Photosport.

His achievements will live on for a long time. Before this tournament, New Zealand men had scored four World Cup goals, with Steve Sumner and Steve Wooddin in 1982 and Winston Reid and Shane Smeltz in 2010. Just now has three all by himself, while Finn Surman is the other name on that illustrious list.

“I don’t think it’s sunken in yet,” Just said. “I hope that in four, eight, 16 years, my name will be quite low on the list of goal scorers, but let’s see. It is obviously really special.”

It was doubly poignant as this tournament was the first time both his parents had seen him play outside New Zealand since he moved to Europe in 2019.

“Obviously they planned for a long time to come to the World Cup,” Just said. “I’m glad they got to be here and I scored. It’s nice having them in the crowd.”

Just also took a chance to reflect on his remarkable journey, given he was playing in the Austrian second division on loan – in front of tiny crowds – as recently as May 2025 – before his eventual move to Motherwell last September.

“I have really good memories of Austria,” Just said.

“I needed that little loan move. I’d been in Denmark for a while so it was nice to experience something new.”

Putting aside the personal success, Just was disappointed that the team had failed to achieve their stated ambitions, unable to either win a match or progress to the knockout stages when both had seemed feasible at different stages against Iran and Egypt before the 5-1 thumping by Belgium.

“The most frustrating part will probably be looking back at the first two games - we’ll feel like we left a little bit on the table,” Just said.

“[Saturday] was a really difficult game. We knew that going in, it’s not an ideal situation to need a win against Belgium, who are probably the strongest team in the group, especially when they struggled in their first two games. But overall it’s pretty positive.

“[There was] a lot of missed opportunities, especially the first two games, but that’s part of football, and hopefully we can grow and get better. Four years goes around pretty quick in football.”

Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.

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