At just 16 years old, young midfielder Kendry Paez made his debut for the Ecuadorian national team when he started in the match against Uruguay.

Thanks to that, Paez went down in history when he surpassed the late famous player Diego Maradona to become the youngest player to participate in the South American World Cup qualifiers. The second match in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round in South America between Ecuador and Uruguay took place this morning (September 13). Even though they play at home, coach Gustavo Alfaro’s team is still rated lower than the away team.

In this match, Moises Caicedo and Kendry Paez – the duo currently on Chelsea’s payroll, provided assists for Facudo Torres to score. Both took turns creating classy assists for their teammates to score, thereby helping the home team win 2-1. Thanks to playing in this match, Paezt, 16 years and 131 days old, surpassed the late Diego Maradona to become the youngest player to play in the World Cup qualifiers for South America. Paez’s great performance made Chelsea fans very happy.

Previously, in June, the Chelsea homepage announced that they had successfully recruited midfielder Kendry Paez from Independiente del Valle Club. However, because he is only 16 years old, Paez will not be able to join Chelsea until he turns 18, which is 2 years from now. This means the earliest the Ecuadorian star can play for the Blues is 2025, and he will likely be loaned out to continue his development over the next few seasons.

Paez plays as an attacking midfielder, has appeared for the Independiente del Valle first team, scoring 1 goal in 5 matches in the Ecuadorian National Championship. He also impressed at the U20 World Cup finals for Ecuador, becoming the youngest player to score in the tournament’s history. On the homepage, Chelsea announced: “Kendry Paez, who will join Chelsea after his 18th birthday, has built a reputation in South America as one of the brightest and most creative young talents, thanks to the combination of skillful dribbling ability and excellent tactical vision.

Paez made a big splash when he scored in his debut for the club’s first team this year, becoming the debut player as well as the youngest scorer in the Ecuadorian National Championship. He has made six appearances at the top level this season, along with his continental debut in the 2-1 win over Corinthians in the Copa Libertadores in early May.

Paez appeared at the Copa America event for U17s, scoring 2 goals and providing 6 assists. He also scored 1 goal and had 3 assists while starting all 4 of Ecuador’s matches at the U20 World Cup this summer. Previously, Paez was honored as the top talent at the Next Generation Trophy 2022, a prestigious youth tournament in Austria with the participation of clubs from around the world.”