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Rabat – Herve Renard is bringing in some new Atlas Lions and calling back some old ones.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has unveiled the list of 26 Moroccan players chosen by the French coach to participate in the Morocco-Comoros game for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) qualifiers.
Morocco’s football team will play Comoros in the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca, October 13, at 7 p.m. (Moroccan time).
Renard has called back Al Ahly club’s sensation, Walid Azaro, and recruited, for the first time, the midfielder of Italy’s Sassuolo, 27-year-old Mehdi Bourabia.
As expected, Renard has selected most of the players who competed in the 2018 World Cup and the Morocco-Malawi qualifier, such as Nordin Amrabat, Hakim Ziyech, Achraf Hakimi, M’barek Boussoufa, and Younes Belhanda.
The captain of the national team, Mehdi Benatia, is still missing from the squad. The Juventus player, who faced a lot of rumors concerning his absence, has already expressed his wish to focus on his season with the Old Lady.
The Schalke 04 player, Amine Harit, who was suspended during the Morocco-Malawi game in a disciplinary matter did not make the cut.
Noussair Mazraoui, who officially made his debut under the Moroccan jersey against Malawi will play his second game with the Atlas Lions. The Moroccan-Dutch player chose to represent Morocco instead of the Netherlands.
The Atlas Lions will begin training in Bouznika, a town between Rabat and Casablanca, starting October 8.
The national team will play another game against Comoros on October 16, a game against Cameroon on November 16, and a second game against Malawi on March 22, 2019.
The Atlas Lions will also play a friendly game against Tunisia on November 20.
For their first qualifier game, Herve Renard’s team scored a win, September 8, beating Malawi 3-0. The victory allowed the team to move up a spot in this month’s FIFA ranking, up to 45th.
Here is the complete list of the players that will compete against Comoros:
Goalkeepers
Mounir El Kajoui (Malaga/Spain)
Yassine Bounou (Girona/Spain)
Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (WAC of Casablanca/Morocco)
Defenders
Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce/Turkey)
Mazraoui Noussair (Ajax Amsterdam/Netherlands)
Marouane Da Costa (Basaksehir/Turkey)
Ghanem Saiss (Wolverhampton/England)
Hamza Mendyl (Schalke 04/Germany)
Soufiane Amrabat (Bruges/Belgium)
Achraf Hakimi (Dortmund/Germany)
Aguerd Naif (Dijon/France)
Midfielders
Karim El Ahmadi (Al Ittihad/Saudi Arabia)
Youssef Ait Bennasser (AS Monaco/France)
M’barek Boussoufa (no club)
Mehdi Bourabia (Sassuolo/Italia)
Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray/Turkey)
Faycal Fajr (Caen/France)
Salaheddine Saidi (WAC of Casablanca/Morocco)
Strikers
Nordin Amrabat (Al-Nasr/ Saudi Arabia)
Hakim Ziyech (Ajax Amsterdam/Netherlands)
Ayoub El Kaabi (Hebei China Fortune FC/China)
Khalid Boutaïb (Malatyaspor/Turkey)
Youssef En-Nesyri (Leganes/Spain)
Walid Azarou (Al Ahly/Egypt)
Ismail Haddad (WAC of Casablanca/Morocco)
Abdelilah Hafidi (Raja of Casablanca/Morocco)
