Mondial U17: the Moroccan Mohammed El Adfaoui to boost the Belgian team

Three players, who had not been released by their respective clubs (Anderlecht, Ajax and La Gantoise), will join the group in Doha. Among them is the young Belgian-Moroccan talent Mohammed El Adfaoui, who plays for La Gantoise. The latter had already been called up by the Moroccan U16 team in the past, but had not played in any official match.

"We wanted to qualify for Mo"

The Belgian coach, Bob Browaeys, stressed that the qualification was an "additional objective" to allow these three players to join their teammates. "We wanted to qualify for Mo [Mohammed El Adfaoui], Jorthy and Nathan, who absolutely want to play this World Cup with their friends," he said, visibly happy about their arrival.

The coach is not worried about their late integration into a group that has already played three matches. He explained that the players knew each other very well and that their arrival would bring "additional energy to the whole group". The Belgians, who will have two days of rest, will know their opponent for the round of 16 on Tuesday evening.