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Join on Telegram Fouzi Lekjaa, President of Morocco’s Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), confirmed today the return of Moroccan football players Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazraoui to the Moroccan national team.
Lekjaa also announced that FC Barcelona’s Abdel Ezzalzouli has been called on to join Morocco’s Atlas Lions.
Notably, the FRMF president emphasized that the Moroccan national team will see the return of Ziyech and Mazraoui during Morocco’s upcoming World Cup playoffs against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The playoffs are scheduled for March 25 and March 29, with the first leg taking place at the Martyrs Stadium in Kinshasa, and the second leg at Casablanca’s Mohammed V Stadium.
The news of the return of Ziyech and Mazraoui to the national team comes on the heels of popular backlash against both the FRMF leadership and Atlas Lions head coach Vahid Halilodzic.
Following Morocco’s disappointing exit from the quarter-final of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), most Atlas Lions fans took issue with Halilhodzic’s “self-defeating tactics” and “toxic” leadership.
They especially pointed to Halilhodzic’s decision to not select Mazroui and Ziyech, two world-class players whose absence they said played against Morocco’s AFCON goals. This was proof that the Bosnian manager is not the coach for Morocco’s continental and World Cup aspirations, most fans said.
With the FRMF leadership renewing its confidence in Halilhodzic despite the Moroccan team’s dramatic AFCON exit, some fans criticized the Moroccan federation for failing to sack the Bosnian coach.
For his part, Halilhodzic was adamant that the lack of discipline and problematic “attitudes” of both Mazroui and Ziyech were the main reasons he was prepared to never call them back to the national team.
After the FRMF appeared to take Halilhodic’s side amid fans’ persisting calls for the return of Ziyech, the Chelsea midfielder surprised followers of Moroccan football when announced his international retirement.
“Obviously, I understand them but I will not return to the national team. It is all clear for me how things are going and I am focusing on what I am doing,” the player said in a statement in February.
In addition to potentially ending a controversial debate that would have soured the atmosphere for Morocco’s team as it prepares to play DR Congo in two decisive World Cup playoffs, Lekjaa’s announcement is also good news for Ezzalzouli’s fans.
Morocco has been campaigning to secure the services of the FC Barcelona winger for months. After weeks of speculation that Ezzalzouli had chosen Spain over Morocco, the player recently shared a photo on his Instagram with a Moroccan jersey.
“Soon,” Ezzalzouli captioned his Instagram story, hinting at the possibility of his joining the Atlas Lions for their upcoming games.
With both Atlas Lions players and fans in need of something to bury the dispiriting drama of the latest AFCON exit, a reinforced Moroccan squad ahead of the World Cup playoffs may be what the national team needs to begin the process of transcending the AFCON disappointment.
