Elijah Just
New Zealand footballer (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elijah Henry Just (born 1 May 2000) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a winger for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and the New Zealand national team.[4] Just is New Zealand's all-time leading scorer at the FIFA World Cup with three goals.
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Just in 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Elijah Henry Just[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 1 May 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Palmerston North, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Right winger | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Motherwell | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| –2015 | Western Suburbs | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018[3] | Western Suburbs | 50 | (26) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Eastern Suburbs | 20 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Helsingør | 71 | (13) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2025 | Horsens | 58 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | → SKN St. Pölten (loan) | 19 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Motherwell | 35 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | New Zealand U-17 | 7 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | New Zealand U-20 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019– | New Zealand | 47 | (12) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 26 June 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career
Western Suburbs
Just joined the Olé Football Academy, then run by Declan Edge moving from Palmerston North to live at the academy. He played for Western Suburbs in the Central League that features teams from the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand.[5] Just was part of the team to win the Central League in 2017,[6] as well as runner-up in the 2018 Chatham Cup.[5]
In 2018, Just had a brief trial at Dutch club PEC Zwolle. While he was deemed good enough for a contract, the club ultimately decided to not give him one. Due to Dutch rules, he would've needed to be given a non-EU salary. PEC Zwolle found this to be too expensive at the time.[7]
Eastern Suburbs
Just was part of Eastern Suburbs winning New Zealand Football Championship team, that won the final series of the league, qualifying for the OFC Champions League.[8] Just finished the season playing in 20 games, scoring 7 goals.[9]
FC Helsingør
In May 2019, FC Helsingør announced that Just would start at the club 1 July.[10]
AC Horsens
On 1 July 2022, FC Helsingør announced that Just had been sold to AC Horsens.[11]
On 21 August 2024, Just signed for Austrian 2. Liga club SKN St. Pölten on a season-long loan with an option to buy.[12]
Motherwell
On 9 July 2025, Just signed for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[13][14] In his debut season, he was shortlisted for PFA Scotland's Premiership player of the year.[15]
International career
Youth
Just was born in New Zealand to a German father and Chinese mother.[16] He was part of the New Zealand U-17 team that won the 2017 OFC U-17 Championship, qualifying for the U-17 World Cup in India.[17] Just played all three games the U-17 team played at the World Cup and was team captain in the second game against Paraguay.[18][19]
Just was originally called up to be part of the New Zealand U-20 side to play at the OFC U-19 Championship in Tahiti but withdrew for club commitments with Western Suburbs.[20] Even though Just didn't play in the OFC U-19 Championship, the team qualified for the U-20 World Cup in Poland and Just was part of the team that travelled to the tournament. He played in 3 games, scoring one goal in their Round of 16 defeat by penalties to Colombia U-20.[21][22]
Senior
On 15 November 2019, Just made his national team debut for New Zealand in a friendly against Ireland, starting in their 1–3 loss.[23]
On 25 June 2021, Just was called up to the New Zealand squad for the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics.[24]
Just scored his first international goal against Fiji in their 4–0 win during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Qatar.[25]
On 14 May 2026, Just was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[26] On 15 June, Just became the first player from New Zealand to score a brace in the FIFA World Cup,[27] when he scored both of New Zealand's goals in their group stage opener against Iran which ended in a 2–2 draw.[28]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 16 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Eastern Suburbs | 2018–19 | NZ Premiership | 18 | 7 | — | — | 2[c] | 0 | 20 | 7 | ||
| Helsingør | 2019–20 | Danish 2nd Division | 15 | 1 | — | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21 | Danish 1st Division | 25 | 5 | — | — | — | 25 | 5 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 30 | 7 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 8 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 71 | 13 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 73 | 14 | ||||
| Horsens | 2022–23 | Danish Superliga | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Danish 1st Division | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 3 | |||
| 2024–25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 58 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 62 | 3 | ||||
| SKN St. Pölten (loan) | 2024–25 | Austrian 2. Liga | 19 | 6 | — | — | — | 19 | 6 | |||
| Motherwell | 2025–26 | Scottish Premiership | 35 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 43 | 7 | |
| 2026–27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 35 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 7 | ||
| Career total | 186 | 33 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 202 | 34 | ||
- Includes Danish Cup, Scottish Cup
- Includes Scottish League Cup
- Appearances in New Zealand Football Championship play-offs
International
- As of match played 26 June 2026[29]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 2019 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 12 | 5 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2026 | 7 | 4 | |
| Total | 47 | 12 | |
- Scores and results list New Zealand's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Just goal.[29]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 March 2022 | Qatar SC Stadium, Doha, Qatar | 7 |  Fiji | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 21 June 2024 | Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu | 24 |  Vanuatu | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2024 OFC Nations Cup |
| 3 | 11 October 2024 | Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu | 29 |  Tahiti | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 14 October 2024 | North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | 30 |  Malaysia | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 15 November 2024 | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand | 31 | Vanuatu | 6–1 | 8–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 18 November 2024 | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | 32 |  Samoa | 7–0 | 8–0 | |
| 7 | 24 March 2025 | Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand | 34 |  New Caledonia | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| 8 | 7 June 2025 | BMO Field, Toronto, Canada | 35 |  Ivory Coast | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2025 Canadian Shield |
| 9 | 30 March 2026 | Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand | 42 |  Chile | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2026 FIFA Series |
| 10 | 15 June 2026 | SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, United States | 45 |  Iran | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup |
| 11 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 12 | 26 June 2026 | BC Place, Vancouver, Canada | 47 |  Belgium | 1–3 | 1–5 |
Honours
Western Suburbs
- Central League: 2017
- Chatham Cup runner-up: 2018
Eastern Suburbs
New Zealand U17
New Zealand
