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Rabat – Morocco’s head coach Vahid Halilhodzic has stated that the national football squad is opening its doors to any players who prove their desire to please Moroccan fans.
Vahid Halilhodzic made his remarks in a pre-match conference ahead of the Morocco-Sudan match, which will take place today as part of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
“The door to the national team is open to any player, author of good performances and who proves his involvement and his desire to please the Moroccan fans,” the coach said.
The remarks followed rifts between the head coach and some Moroccan international players, including Hakim Ziyech.
Ziyech has been absent from Halilhdozic’s recent line-ups.
Recently Halilhodzic said that Ziyech’s exclusion is due to “his behavior in the last two matches, especially the last one, was not that of a national team player who as a leader in the team has to be a positive role model.”
In addition to Ziyech, Ajax Amsterdam player Noussair Mazraoui publicly discussed ongoing tensions with Morocco’s head coach that led to his absence from the national team in recent games.
He told Dutch video podcast “Bij Andy in de Auto” that he had a minor dispute with the coach when he showed up late for training.
“When I arrived, the coach was very upset with me. During training, it was very hot and the coach asked us to drink every 5 minutes. During one of the breaks I didn’t drink, because I wasn’t thirsty anymore.”
Mazraoui said Halilhdozic came to ask him to drink again, which he refused.
“He nervously insisted. To calm the situation ,(Romain] Saiss gave me a bottle of water, but I poured it on the floor. That’s how the problem started,” he said.
The head coach also commented on the absences of some players, including Youssef En-Nsyri. During the conference, Halihdozic said his squad will not be affected by the absences as the team possesses ample players of similar quality as the absentees.
Sevilla star Youssef En-Nsyri will not be able to participate in the two qualifier matches. En-Nsyri said the absence from the team for over three weeks is “unfounded.”
