Achraf Hakimi: Morocco Star Struggles to Replicate World Cup Form at PSG

Several reasons could explain the difference in performance between Achraf Hakimi with the national team and with his club. "In Morocco, Achraf occupies a leadership role, he is a key player on the team," explains Stéphane Gilli, former assistant to Vahid Halilhodzic, the former coach of the Atlas Lions fired before the 2022 World Cup, to Le Parisien. "It’s not pejorative to say that in Paris, there are players above him in this area and that it may affect his confidence or his mental state."

He will point out that this does not mean that with the national team "we let him do what he wanted", "but Achraf has such qualities when he starts from afar, when he has space, that we offered him a very great freedom in the offensive animation. But as a result, we could not have the same requirement on the defensive level, the others had to try to compensate."

The 24-year-old player does not have the same opportunities with PSG. With the Parisians, he finds himself in the situation he was in when he was making his debut at Real Madrid. "In Paris, there is again the respect for the idols, he wants to please them and puts himself at their service," analyzes former Moroccan international Aziz Bennij, a consultant for beIN Sports in Qatar. According to the former Nancy player, the Moroccan right-back is capable of "becoming a rocket if we free up space for him."

"We don’t use his qualities as a space eater in Paris," continues Aziz Bennij. On his right side, he only serves to fix, the preferred circuit is on the left, in order to allow Mbappé or Neymar to take the spaces or to come back on their right foot. If Messi was ten years younger and played on the right, we would probably see Hakimi more on his right flank. But there, it’s a bit complicated..."