Rabat - There are some surprises in coach Herve Renard’s list.
Rabat – There are some surprises in coach Herve Renard’s list.
Today, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) unveiled the 25 Moroccan players chosen by the French coach to participate in the Morocco-Malawi game for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) qualifiers.
The much-awaited game will take place in the Mohammed V Stadium of Casablanca, on September 8.
As expected, Renard has selected most of the players who competed in the 2018 World Cup, such as Nordin Amrabat, Hakim Ziyech, Achraf Hakimi, M’barek Boussoufa, and Younes Belhanda.
However, the absence of the captain of the national team, Mehdi Benatia, from the list is raising questions regarding his future with the national team. The same goes for the notable absence of Celta Vigo’s new player Sofiane Boufal.
Noussair Mazraoui will officially make his debut under the Moroccan jersey. The Moroccan-Dutch player has finally made his choice by agreeing to play for Morocco instead of the Netherlands.
Mazraoui is one of the new faces recruited by Herve Renard, as well as Nayef Aguerd, former defender of the FUS club in Rabat who transferred this summer to Dijon and Amien club’s Oualid El Hajjam.
Caen’s Yacine Bammou and RC Lens’ Achraf Bencharki are also back in the selection.
Here is the complete list of the players that will compete against Malawi:
Goalkeepers
Munir Mohand (Malaga/LaLiga 123)
Yassine Bounou (Girona FC/LaLiga Santander)
Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (Wydad Casablanca/Botola Pro)
Defenders
Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce/Süper Lig)
Manuel Da Costa (Istanbul BB/Süper Lig)
Noussair Mazraoui (Ajax/Eredivisie)
Romain Saiss (Wolverhampton Wanderers/Premier League)
Hamza Mendyl (Schalke 04/Bundesliga)
Nayef Aguerd (Dijon FCO/Ligue 1)
Achraf Hakimi (Borussia Dortmund/Bundesliga)
Oualid El Hajjam (Amiens SC/Ligue 1)
Midfielders
Karim El Ahmadi (Al Ittihad/Arabie Saoudite)
Mbark Boussoufa (No club)
Sofyan Amrabat (Club Brugge/Pro League)
Youssef Ait Benasser (AS Monaco/Ligue 1)
Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray/Süper Lig)
Faycal Fajr (SM Caen/Ligue 1)
Amine Harit (Schalke 04/Bundesliga)
Hakim Ziyech (Ajax/Eredivisie)
Strikers
Ayoub El Kaabi (Hebei Fortune)
Yacine Bammou (SM Caen/Ligue 1)
Achraf Bencharki (RC Lens/Ligue 2)
Nordin Amrabat (Al Nassr/Arabie Saoudite)
Khalid Boutaib (Yeni Malatyaspor/Süper Lig)
Youssef En-Nesyry (CD Leganes/LaLiga Santander)
