Twenty-nine names and a long international break
More than two weeks together. For the Atlas Lions, that has never happened before. Mohamed Ouahbi unveiled his squad on Thursday at a press conference, 29 players picked for an unusually long camp: two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Gabon and Lesotho, plus a friendly against Ghana in Tangier.
That changes everything for a coach who only recently took charge. A standard break brings three or four training sessions. This time Ouahbi has a fortnight and more to drill his ideas and take a proper look at players he still barely knows.
Try it for $0.99.
Three first call-ups, one of them 17
Abdellah Ouazane is the headline. Seventeen years old, attacking midfielder at Ajax Amsterdam, only turned pro over the summer and already has 11 appearances, a goal and three assists to his name. Soufian El Faouzi follows the same route at 23, after catching the eye in Schalke 04’s match against Bayern Munich last weekend.
Yassir Zabiri completes the trio, and his case needs no explaining: six goals in six league games with Racing Santander. Alaa Bellarouch is another fresh face, this one among the goalkeepers. The former Strasbourg man, on loan from Braga to Dinamo Bucharest, joins Yassine Bounou, Munir El Kajoui and Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti.
The regulars are back, one issue settled
Nayef Aguerd and Abde Ezzalzouli return after missing the last World Cup through injury. Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal comes back in too, having been left out for technical reasons before the tournament. Around them the familiar names are all present: Achraf Hakimi, Brahim Diaz, Azzedine Ounahi, Ismael Saibari, Bilal El Khannouss.
One absence stands out. Younes Ebnoutalib, eligible for Morocco, is on Jurgen Klopp’s list for Germany. The 23-year-old striker has made his choice, and Morocco lose an attacking option they had tracked for months. Those calls tend to turn on one phone call at the right moment.
More football news on MathODDS
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply