For his first selection since the historic feat of the Atlas Lions at the World Cup in Qatar, Walid Regragui did not wish to shake up his squad for the next two friendly matches against Brazil, on March 25, then the Peru, three days later. Thus, of the 30 called up, six players will make their debut in the group in addition to the return of Imran Louza while Brahim Diaz, expected to be on the list, was ultimately not retained.
“I don’t like ingratitude”. It is with these words that Walid Regragui, the coach of the national team, began his speech to justify his list of 30 players who will participate in the preparation camp for the Atlas Lions in anticipation of the matches against Brazil and Peru. Indeed, the Atlas Lions coach had “the primary idea of keeping the backbone of the group” semi-finalists of the 2022 World Cup and “who gave joy to the Moroccan people”.
Thus, the executives of the workforce such as Romain Saïss, despite his low playing time in Besiktas, Nayef Aguerd, Sofyan Amrabat, Achraf Hakimi, Hakim Ziyech and Yassine Bounou are present.
However, the former Wydad Casablanca coach announced some changes, starting with the absence of four globalists Badr Benoun in defense plus midfielders Selim Amallah and Ilias Chair, both injured, and Yahya Jabrane who according to Regragui, “must return to its best level” after a downturn in recent weeks.
Brahim Diaz deep in thought
For novelties, the public and the media expected the appearance of Brahim Diaz. However, the AC Milan player has still not made a decision regarding his selection choice since the Real Madrid-trained striker also has Spanish nationality.
“It’s true that I made the trip to Milan to meet Brahim Diaz and explain our project to him. I am not into negotiation. Whoever wants to come in selection, the door is open. There are players who make their choice quickly and others who need more time.explains the national coach.
“He is a player who loves Morocco. We will accept his decision whatever it is.continued Regragui as Spain coach Luis De La Fuites decided to call him up for La Roja’s next fixtures.
Six new and one returning
The Moroccan technician also injected new blood into his group “to prepare for the future”. Most of them already have experience and have learned their skills with Morocco’s youth teams.
We thus find left-back Ayoub Amraoui, recently revealed with Nice, Saint-Etienne midfielder Benjamin Bouchouari, Le Havre Yassine Kechta and Rennes winger Ibrahim Salah, central defenders Chadi Riad (FC Barcelona, photo) and Abdel Abqar ( Deportivo Alavés), from Spain, as well as goalkeeper Mehdi Benabid, who plays in the country, at FUS Rabat. Forfeited for the World Cup, Imran Louza is making his big comeback.
The national coach also explained the reason for the low representation of Botola players in the list of players called up, assuring that the national selection is open to all players playing in the different Botola clubs.
The list is not fixed and there are players who can still join the national team in the future; he said, noting however that “the problem is not the low level of local players, but rather the competitiveness of players who play in the best clubs in the world. I cannot rule out Ziyech, Hakimi and En-Nesyri to summon local players in their place”.