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Rabat – Morocco’s national team’s coach Walid Regragui invited Benjamin Bouchouari, midfielder for Saint-Etienne in France, to join the Atlas Lions to replace Aziz Ounahi.
Ouanahi is recovering from a back injury he sustained while playing for Olympique de Marseille.
According to a statement from Morocco’s Royal Football Federation (FRMF), Regragui has also invited Jawad El Yamiq, a defender for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Wahda, to join the training camp at the Mohammed VI Football Complex, located near the capital Rabat. The training camp kicked off on Monday.
The Atlas Lions are now preparing ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifier against Tanzania on Tuesday, November 21, at 8 p.m. local time at the Benjamin Mkapa stadium in the Tanzanian capital Dar Es Salam.
Morocco is competing in Group E, which also includes Zambia, Niger, and Congo.
The 2026 World Cup is set to take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and will be the first edition to include 48 teams instead of the usual 32.
The statement added that the first training session on Monday focused on fatigue removal, with the technical staff of the national team led by Walid Regragui.
Regragui announced his initial squad for the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifier games on November 9, including a first-time call-up, Sofiane Diop, who plays for OGC Nice.
The squad list also featured established stars such as Achraf Hakimi, Nayef Aguerd, Romain Saiss, Hakim ZIyech, and Youssef En-Nesyri, in addition to Amine Harit, Azzedine Ounahi, and Sofyan Amrabat.
The team was set to also play Eritrea on November 16, but the Eritrean team withdrew from the qualifiers.
Morocco is among the favorites to qualify for the World Cup 2026 from Africa, following their spectacular performances during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they finished in fourth place.
The latest ranking from FIFA puts Morocco as the 13th best national team in the world, and the best one in Africa, ahead of teams like Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt.
Read Also: Walid Regragui Announces Morocco’s Squad for 2026 World Cup Qualifiers
