Elijah Just

Elijah Just
Personal information
Full name Elijah Henry Just[1]
Date of birth (2000-05-01) 1 May 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Palmerston North, New Zealand
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Right winger
Team information
Current team
 SKN St. Pölten
(on loan from Horsens)
Number 30
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– Horsens 58 (4)
2024– → SKN St. Pölten (loan) 11 (4)
International career‡
2017 New Zealand U-17 7 (2)
2019 New Zealand U-20 3 (1)
2019– New Zealand 32 (6)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  New Zealand
OFC Nations Cup
Winner 2024 Fiji/Vanuatu
OFC U-17 Championship
Winner 2017 Samoa/Tahiti
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 December 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2024

Elijah Henry Just (born 1 May 2000) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a winger for SKN St. Pölten on loan from Horsens and the New Zealand national team.[4]

Club career

Western Suburbs

Just joined the Olé 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]

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.[7] Just finished the season playing in 20 games, scoring 7 goals.[8]

FC Helsingør

In May 2019, FC Helsingør announced that Just would start at the club 1 July.[9]

AC Horsens

On 1 July 2022, FC Helsingør announced that Just had been sold to AC Horsens.[10]

On 21 August 2024, Just signed for Austrian 2. Liga club SKN St. Pölten on a season-long loan with an option to buy.[11]

International career

U-17

Just 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.[12] Just played all three games the U-17 team played at the World Cup and was team captain in the second game against Paraguay.[13][14]

U-20

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 withdraw for club commitments with Western Suburbs.[15] 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.[16][17]

National team

On 15 November 2019, Just made his national team debut for New Zealand in a friendly against Ireland, starting in their 1–3 loss.[18] Just scored his first international goal against Fiji in their 4–0 win during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Qatar.[19]

Career statistics

International statistics

Scores and results list New Zealand's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Just goal.
List of international goals scored by Elijah Just
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 21 March 2022 Qatar SC Stadium, Doha, Qatar  Fiji 2–0 4–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 21 June 2024 Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu  Vanuatu 3–0 4–0 2024 OFC Nations Cup
3 11 October 2024 Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu  Tahiti 1–0 3–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 14 October 2024 North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand  Malaysia 1–0 4–0 Friendly
5 15 November 2024 Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand  Vanuatu 6–1 8–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 18 November 2024 Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand  Samoa 7–0 8–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Western Suburbs

Eastern Suburbs

New Zealand

New Zealand U17

References

  1. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: New Zealand" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Squad list – Men's Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  3. ^ "CF Yearbooks 2000-2021".
  4. ^ Elijah Just at Soccerway
  5. ^ a b Hyslop, Liam (21 September 2018). "Moulding a Kiwi Messi: Ole Football Academy's neverending football quest". Stuff. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  6. ^ Hyslop, Liam (30 July 2017). "Western Suburbs win Central League title with two games to go". Stuff. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  7. ^ Voerman, Andrew (1 April 2019). "Eastern Suburbs' national league win a showcase for youth development". Stuff. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Premiership 2018/19". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  9. ^ "FC Helsingør skriver kontrakt med to unge newzealændere". FC Helsingør (in Danish). Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Elijah Just skifter til AC Horsens". FC Helsingør (in Danish). Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Elijah Just und Malcolm Stolt verstärken das Rudel" [Elijah Just and Malcolm Stolt join the pack]. www.skn-stpoelten.at (in German). 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  12. ^ Dando, Kris (3 March 2017). "Porirua lads help New Zealand to under 17 football World Cup qualification". Stuff. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Official Match Report Paraguay v New Zealand". FIFA. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  14. ^ "U-17 World Cup India". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  15. ^ Hyslop, Liam (8 August 2018). "Young Kiwi footballers Callum McCowatt and Eli Just set for spells at European clubs". Stuff. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  16. ^ "COLOMBIA U20 VS. NEW ZEALAND U20 1 – 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  17. ^ Voerman, Andrew (3 June 2019). "Progress made as Fifa Under-20 World Cup campaign ends with heartbreak, not history". Stuff. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  18. ^ Voerman, Andrew. "Callum McCowatt scores on debut as new-look All Whites lose to Republic of Ireland". Stuff. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  19. ^ Rollo, Phillip (21 March 2022). "Chris Wood becomes All Whites' all-time leading scorer with brace against Fiji". Stuff.