For Elijah Just, memories of waking up in the dead of night as a boy in New Zealand to watch Premier League football have taken on new meaning. The 26-year-old midfielder, now a key figure for Swansea City, is edging closer to the very competition he once tuned in for from the other side of the world.
Just's rise has been anything but conventional. He left home at 14 to join the Ole Football Academy in Porirua, a production line that has sent numerous New Zealanders into professional football abroad. It was there he first crossed paths with Marko Stamenic, now his teammate at Swansea, alongside several other players who have gone on to build careers across Europe.
A connection between the academy and the American ownership group at Danish club Helsingor gave Just his break. Invited on a month-long trial, he impressed enough to earn his first professional contract shortly after turning 19. His debut season came in the Danish third tier, where he helped Helsingor secure promotion.
A move to Horsens followed in 2022, but a single season in the Danish top flight ended in relegation. Just then spent the 2024-25 campaign on loan in Austria's second tier with SKN St Polten before making the switch to Scottish football, joining Motherwell 14 months ago.
That move, reuniting him with former Horsens boss Jens Berthel Askou, proved transformative. Just became a standout performer as Motherwell won plaudits for their attractive style of play, with his form earning him a shortlisting for the Scottish Footballer of the Year award. Reflecting on that period, Just credited both fortune and teamwork: "I had a nice stroke of luck when one of my old managers, Jens, brought me to Motherwell. Then the whole team kind of came together in like this really nice way where we played good football, we exceeded the expectations and I was just lucky to be a part of that."
His breakthrough season at Fir Park set the stage for an even bigger summer. Called up for New Zealand's return to the World Cup for only the third time in the nation's history, Just delivered on the biggest stage. He scored in the seventh minute of the All Whites' opening match against Iran, added another in a 2-2 draw, and netted a third goal in the tournament during New Zealand's group-stage exit against Belgium.
"I was really fortunate that the year at Motherwell was so successful that I was able to carry some confidence into the World Cup," Just said. "I think the way we played, we definitely gave ourselves a chance so that was a little bit disappointing. But it was just an incredible experience, not just the games but being there in the Fifa bubble, with the support out on the street and just seeing everyone enjoying football no matter where they came from."
Back home, the impact was significant. Just noted that New Zealand's World Cup run temporarily pushed rugby's All Blacks out of the national spotlight. "We got sent videos of kids in school watching and different pubs, bars, things like that," he said. "The whole nation got behind it, which was pretty special."
Less than a month after the tournament ended, Just completed a move to Swansea City for an undisclosed fee reported to be around £5m, having previously attracted interest from clubs including Celtic and Rangers. He has started all seven of Swansea's Championship matches so far this season as the Welsh club sit second in the table ahead of their trip to Lincoln City.
Despite the promising start, Just believes there is more to come. "I think I'm still adjusting," he said. "I don't think I've shown my best out on the pitch yet but I've still enjoyed it. The team that have surrounded me have been great. I'm trying to do anything I can do to help the team."
With Swansea eyeing a return to the Premier League, Just's remarkable journey from a New Zealand academy to Danish and Austrian football, via Scottish Premiership success and World Cup heroics, could yet reach its ultimate destination.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.