Morocco are banking their World Cup campaign on the skill and guile of Hakim Ziyech, despite the fact the Chelsea attacker has seen little game time at club level this year and remains a polarising figure in the team.
It was the intense debate around his non-selection over the last year that led to the drastic move of firing coach Vahid Halilhodzic, just months before the tournament in Qatar starts.
Halilhodzic’s bellicose nature has not helped his cause. He was insistent on leaving out Ziyech because he felt the player was not fully committed to the cause but his poor relationship with the players made it easier for the federation to get rid of him, just as the Ivory Coast did in 2010 and Japan before the last World Cup finals.
New coach Walid Regragui has made no major changes since taking over in September except to bring Ziyech straight into the side, saying it had been “criminal” of Halilhodzic to have left him out in the first place.
It places a huge responsibility on the Dutch-born player to now deliver. Ziyech had similar problems with then-coach Herve Renard before the 2018 finals, which suggests that he is indeed a troublesome figure.
COACH
Walid Regragui played for Morocco, notably at right back in the 2004 Cup of Nations final where they lost to Tunisia. He coached Wydad Casablanca to the African Champions League crown in May and his new contract with Morocco is through to the next World Cup finals in North America.
PROFILES
GOALKEEPERS
Yassine BOUNOU
A Europa League winner with Sevilla in 2020, he was born in Montreal when his parents were working in Canada but brought up in Casablanca before moving to Spain. He is a definite first choice for the World Cup in Qatar even if his club have been struggling this season.
Munir EL KAJOUI
The first choice at the last World Cup in Russia, when he was still playing in Spain, but long since lost his place in the lineup to Bounou. Born in the disputed Spanish enclave of Melilla which Morocco claim.
Ahmed Reda TAGNOUTI
An African Champions League winner with Wydad Casablanca this year, he was also in the squad as the third-choice goalkeeper for the 2018 finals in Russia. He was a winner of the African Nations Championship in 2018 – the tournament for quasi-national teams made up of home-based players only.
DEFENCE
Nayef AGUERD
He needed ankle surgery, following a knock in a pre-season friendly, which hampered his World Cup preparations after his 30-million-pound move from Stade Rennes to West Ham United. He left Morocco as a teenager to try and breakthrough in Spain but was rejected by several clubs before he got his break in France.
Yahia ATTIAT ALLAH
He was a star performer for his club as they won the African Champions League this year after returning to Wydad from a brief spell in Greece. He is one of just a handful of home-based players in the Morocco squad, all of them from coach Regragui’s former club.
Soufiane CHAKLA
He is relatively small for a centre back, and played briefly at Villarreal in LaLiga, having come through the lower leagues in Spain but is now based in Belgium. He was born in Morocco but left for Spain at the age of eight when his parents moved across.
Achrad DARI
Sold after Champions League success by Wydad to France, where he has immediately looked at home in Ligue 1 and could be a starter for the World Cup, despite the fact he only won his first cap in June. He looks a bargain buy for Stade Brest at 2.8 million euros.
Jawad EL YAMIQ
He was voted the best defender in the Moroccan league before getting a chance to play in Europe, first at Genoa in Serie A and now at Real Valladolid in LaLiga. Tall and imposing, he is originally from Khourigba where he started out with local club Olympique.
Achraf HAKIMI
A league champion with Real Madrid, Inter Milan and PSG, Hakimi also played at Borussia Dortmund in a whirlwind five years as a professional after his debut for Real aged 17. He is married to the actress Hiba Abouk, who like him is also born in Spain to parents from north Africa.
Noussair MAZRAOUI
This world-class right-back moved to the Bundesliga champions from Ajax Amsterdam but must play out of position if he is to get into the Morocco lineup. He also had a fallout with old coach Halilhodzic but the pair met in the Netherlands earlier this year to patch matters up.
Sammy MMAEE
Belgian-born with a Cameroonian father and Moroccan mother, his younger brother Ryan is also in contention for a berth in the World Cup squad. He struggled to get regular club football in Belgium so moved to Hungary where he has helped Ferencavros to win the league title two seasons in a row.
Romain SAISS
He is the captain of the team and a towering defensive, as well as attacking, presence, who had six seasons at Wolverhampton Wanderers before a summer move to Besiktas in Turkey. Born in France, he also played in Ligue 1 at Angers and has been in the Morocco team for 10 years now.
MIDFIELD
Selim AMALLAH
He spent all his club career in his native Belgium but chose to play for Morocco despite an overture from Belgium coach Roberto Martinez. Amallah’s mother is Italian, so he could also have played for them. He was a regular at the Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon at the start of the year.
Sofyan AMRABAT
Fiorentina
He replaced his brother Nordin as a substitute for his first World Cup finals appearance against Iran at the tournament in Russia four years ago. The strong defensive midfielder, born in the Netherlands, sits just ahead of the back four and provides protection, while also taking the ball forward.
Aymen BARKOK
The German-born midfielder recently moved to Mainz from Eintracht Frankfurt, where he started his Bundesliga career as a teenager in 2016. He played for Germany at five different age group levels from U16 to U21 before a debut for Morocco two years ago.
Younes BELHANDA
Invited back into the squad in September after having last played at the abortive 2019 Cup of Nations tournament, he is a player with match-winning ability. He was a key member of the Montpellier side that were shock Ligue 1 winners in 2012 before going on to play at Dynamo Kyiv, Schalke 04 and Galatasaray.
Ilias CHAIR
The Belgian-born winger's small frame has not hindered his rapid progress in recent years, not only at club level in England but also at the national team. He moved to Queens Park Rangers in London as a teenager and is now in his sixth season in the Championship in England.
Amine HARIT
On loan from Schalke to the Ligue 1 runners-up Olympique Marseille, the French-born Harit made a return to the Morocco squad in June after 18 months in the wilderness. He has a past reputation as a ‘difficult’ player but, over the last year, has been rehabilitating his reputation.
Yahya JABRANE
The Wydad Casablanca captain's chances of playing are considerably increased since his old club coach has been appointed in charge of the World Cup campaign. He played for Morocco at the Futsal World Cup in Thailand in 2012 but after that concentrated on his career in the 11-a-side game.
Imran LOUZA
The French-born centre midfielder, who played for France at U21 level before switching allegiance, has remained at Watford despite their relegation from the Premier League. He cost the English club 10 million euros when he moved from his home town club Nantes in mid-2021 and debuted for Morocco just three months later.
Azzedine OUNAHI
He made his debut at the Cup of Nations finals in January and has kept his place since, scoring twice in the decisive 4-1 home win over DR Congo in March that booked Morocco’s World Cup berth. His grandfather and uncle were professional footballers in Casablanca, where he hails from and where he was in the Mohamed VI Academy.
Abdelhami SABIRI
He is a holder of both a Belgian and Spanish passport but said after his September debut for Morocco that he had realised “a choice of the heart”. He has made quick progress this season under Ruud van Nistelrooy at PSV after previously being rejected by Anderlecht.
FORWARDS
Zakaria ABOUKHLAL
The Dutch-born product of PSV Eindhoven moved to Ligue 1 at the start of this season and wasted no time in making a positive impression at newly promoted Toulouse. His father is Libyan and his mother from Morocco, but he was a junior international for the Netherlands before switching loyalty to Morocco.
Abde EZZALZOULI
The Barcelona prodigy nicknamed ‘Ez Abde’, who Spain wanted to use last year when he broke though at Camp Nou, received a call up from Morocco for the Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon, but he did not honor the invitation. It took until September for him to finally make up his mind and play for Morocco, debuting against Chile in Barcelona.
Soufiane BOUFAL
The French-born wide player has never properly delivered on his potential, having previously played at Lille, Southampton and Celta Vigo and is now at Angers. He will be the penalty taker for Morocco should they get any opportunities from the spot during the World Cup finals.
Ayoub EL KAABI
The hard-running striker scored 18 goals in the Turkish league last season after moving from Moroccan champions Wydad Casablanca. He has also played in China after Hebei China Fortune paid 6.5 million euros to sign him from Renaissance Berkane but he did not last long in Asia before going back to Morocco.
Youssef EN-NESYRI
En-Nesryi moved to Spain in 2015 from the Mohamed VI Academy in Casablanca and has been a LaLiga regular for Malaga, Leganes and Sevilla. He has struggled with criticism from Morocco fans when he misses good chances but is likely to be the lead attacker when they line up in Qatar.
Ryann MMAEE
He started his career at home town club Standard Liege and played his first game in the Belgian league when he was only 17 years old, going on to play twice for Belgium at U21 level, where his dribbling skills caught the eye. He has three other brothers who play football.
Munir EL HADDADI
Former Spain international El Haddadi is the player the Moroccan federation tried hard to get into their squad for the last World Cup and eventually got Fifa to change their eligibility rules so that he could play for them. Ironically he has struggled to make an impact since and has scored just twice in 11 appearances for Morocco.
Hakim ZIYECH
He played no part in the World Cup qualifiers or this year’s Cup of Nations finals after a stand-off with previous coach Vahid Halilhodzic. He is a Dutch-born player, who Ronald Koeman tried to get to play for the Netherlands. He made his breakthrough at Ajax Amsterdam, notably in their mazy run to the 2019 Uefa Champion League semifinals.