Belgian Prodigy Snub Sparks Morocco Switch Speculation

After the poor performance in Belarus (1-1) during the last gathering, Gill Swerts had to make choices in the face of fierce competition in attack. This led to Rayane Bounida not being called up for the next two matches. "It’s a purely sporting decision," the coach explained to Nieuwsblad. "During the last international break, several players were absent due to injuries or last-minute transfers. They are available this time, which makes Rayane’s non-selection simply related to the profiles we had available and the competition in his position. We explained this directly to Rayane," he added.

The non-selection of the young Ajax prodigy seems logical insofar as he has only played one minute in the Eredivisie this season and is still playing with Jong Ajax, analyzes La Dernière Heure. The absence of the player of Moroccan origin raises questions about the choice of his sporting nationality. On his social networks, the young player congratulated the Moroccan under-20 national team after their qualification for the round of 16 of the World Cup in the category, which is taking place in Chile. In the post, he highlighted the Moroccan flag. Rayane has also deleted all his photos with the Belgian youth teams from his Instagram account, fueling the rumors.

Has the player changed his sporting nationality? "In any case, I haven’t heard about it. And it’s not the kind of subject I want to dwell on too much," reacted Gill Swerts, who prefers to focus on the team and remain focused on his goal. "We have a lot of players who are already playing abroad, some even in the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League. With the names and profiles we have, we will always be favorites to win our matches."