Achraf Hakimi, Abde Ezzalzouli Excited to Join Atlas Lions Camp

Rabat – Moroccan footballer Abde Ezzalzouli shared today on Instagram a selfie with Achraf Hakimi on a private jet. The two players were heading to the Moroccan national football camp in Mohammed VI Complex.

On March 17, Morocco’s national football coach Vahid Halilhodzic unveiled his 26-player list for the World Cup playoff games against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The squad includes veteran stars such as Soufiane Amrabat, Achraf Hakimi, and Youssef En-Nesyri. More than two months after his last-minute, controversial decision to withdraw from Morocco’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Abde Ezzalzouli now appears excited to be part of the Atlas Lions squad tasked with securing Morocco’s World Cup qualification.

Along with Achraf Hakimi and other top-notch Moroccan footballers, the Barcelona winger is joining the national boot camp in preparation for the first leg of Morocco’s World Cup playoffs at the Martyrs Stadium in Congo’s capital Kinshasa on March 25 at 4 p.m (Morocco time).

The second leg is scheduled for March 29 at 7:30 p.m at Casablanca’s Mohammed V Stadium.

Prior to Ezzalzouli’s decision to join the Moroccan national team, the Spanish Football Federation was reportedly pressuring the Barcelona star to play for La Roja, the Spanish national football team.

The news of Ezzalzouli declining Morocco’s invitation to play for the Atlas Lions at AFCON was stridently debated in both Spanish and Moroccan media. Many in Spain interpreted the move as a clear indication that the Moroccan-born player was not interested in representing Morocco.

Yet the Barcelona winger silently but decisively rubbished that suggestion with an Instagram story showing him in a Moroccan jersey.

Meanwhile, as Spanish media continued to report about Ezzalzouli’s preference for La Roja, the president of the Moroccan Football Royal Federation (FRMF), Fouzi Lekjaa, strongly refuted the claims in an interview with Moroccan radio Mars.

Rather than once and for all declining Morocco’s invitation to join the Atlas Lions, Ezzalzouli had simply asked to be given more time to make up his mind about his international career, Fouzi insisted.

With the 20-year-old winger now visibly thrilled to finally join the Atlas Lions’ camp, it remains to be seen whether his performances will help bury the weeks-long controversy his national team choice generated in both Morocco and Spain.