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Morocco’s under-20 national team will ramp up preparations for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations with three friendly matches later this month.
The Atlas Cubs will take on Ghana and Sierra Leone at the Mohammed VI Football Complex as they fine-tune their squad ahead of the tournament, which kicks off in CĂ´te d’Ivoire on April 26.
Fixtures:
- March 20: Morocco vs Ghana
- March 22: Morocco vs Sierra Leone
- March 24: Morocco vs Ghana
Head coach Mohamed Ouahbi has named a 30-man squad for the camp, blending European-based players with Botola Pro talents – mostly in the attacking department.
Squad List:
Goalkeepers:
- Ibrahim Koumès (Marseille, France)
- Yanis Benchaouch (Monaco, France)
- Fayçal Meziani (Waalwijk, Netherlands)
Defenders:
- Ismail Aouad (Nice, France)
- Ayman Arkech (Huesca, Spain)
- Ismail Bouchti (Sturm Graz, Austria)
- Ismail Baouf (Anderlecht, Belgium)
- Adam BenaĂŻssa (Elche, Spain)
- Elias Boumsasoui (Den Bosch, Netherlands)
- Elias Dhaou (Anderlecht, Belgium)
Midfielders:
- Samir El Mourabit (Strasbourg, France)
- Noufel El Hannach (PSG, France)
- Issa Hebri (Rennes, France)
- Elias Hasni (Le Havre, France)
- Ahmed Khattir (Waasland-Beveren, Belgium)
- Hamza Kouton (Nice, France)
- Ali Maamar (Anderlecht, Belgium)
- Othman Maâma (Montpellier, France)
- Saad Haddad (Venezia, Italy)
- Yassir Zabiri (FamalicĂŁo, Portugal)
Forwards:
- Moâd Dahhak (Ittihad Touarga, Morocco)
- Anas El Mekkawi (FUS Rabat, Morocco)
- Houssam Sadak (Ittihad Touarga, Morocco)
- Mohammed Amine Ketiba (Hassania Agadir, Morocco)
- Reda El Aloui (FUS Rabat, Morocco)
- Fouad Zahouani (Ittihad Touarga, Morocco)
- Abdelhakim El Misbahi (AS FAR, Morocco)
- Sofiane Karoui (CD Nacional, Portugal)
- Ayman Zouine (Inter Milan, Italy)
- Abdelhamid AĂŻt Boudlal (Amiens, France)
Ouahbi’s side will make the most of these matches to assess how the team is ready ahead of the continental tournament, with final squad selections expected to be made after the camp.
Morocco will be looking to improve on their last appearance at the U20 AFCON in 2021 held in Mauritania, when they reached the quarter-finals and were knocked out 4-1 by Tunisia in the penalty shootouts after the two sides settled for a nil-nil draw in regular and extra time.Â
Ghana eventually won the title after beating Uganda 2-1 in the final game.Â
