Ebnoutalib turns his back on Morocco, Ouahbi responds sharply

The decision has been made. Born and trained in Frankfurt, Younes Ebnoutalib accepted Jürgen Klopp’s call-up for Germany’s upcoming matches against the Netherlands and Greece. The Eintracht striker had nevertheless been monitored for several months by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.

His start to the season had reignited the duel between Morocco and Germany to secure his services. Mohamed Ouahbi has now brought it to an end. Questioned on Thursday, the Atlas Lions coach confirmed that the player had chosen Die Mannschaft.

“He chose Germany, good luck to him. The matter is closed,” he said at the press conference held this Thursday, September 17.

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The Moroccan coach nevertheless says he has been following Ebnoutalib since last season. The player had already been included in Morocco’s preliminary squads for nearly a year. Members of the staff had travelled to watch him, and Ouahbi had personally spoken with him by phone to present the Atlas Lions’ project, without guaranteeing him a place.

Ouahbi accepts that he did not call him up earlier

The coach also responded to those who criticize him for not calling up the striker before Germany. Having joined Eintracht Frankfurt in January, Ebnoutalib had been hampered by several injuries and had played only 136 minutes during the six months preceding the World Cup.

For Ouahbi, a call-up to Morocco was therefore not justified at that time. The situation has since changed: the striker has regained playing time and is stringing together strong performances. The coach acknowledges that he would now have deserved to join the Lions, but Germany was the first to call him up.

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The episode mainly allows Mohamed Ouahbi to toughen the message directed at dual nationals. Morocco no longer wants to appear as a fallback option or negotiate a player’s arrival in exchange for a call-up.

“Morocco is not negotiated; it is earned,” he declared, before recalling that the Atlas Lions now occupy sixth place in the world rankings. A way of asserting the national team’s new status after its semifinal in 2022 and its quarterfinal in 2026.

For Ebnoutalib, the door is therefore considered closed by Ouahbi. Despite a year of monitoring and a profile deemed interesting, the Moroccan coach refuses to turn his choice of Germany into a saga.