Moroccan-Dutch Forward Zakaria Aboukhlal Chooses Morocco for International Career

At 20 years old, Zakaria Aboukhlal was torn between several nationalities. While he had the choice between Libya, his father’s country of origin, the Netherlands, his adopted country, the young player finally opted for Morocco, his mother’s country of origin.

On his Instagram account, he admitted to having been approached by the two countries. "Libya also gave me this option for which I am really grateful and finally and above all, the Netherlands was also a possibility for the future," he wrote.

If he rejected the Libyan offer, he claims to have done so because of language barriers. More accustomed to English and Dutch, the presence of international players Hakim Ziyech, Sofyan Amrabat and Noussair Mazraoui in the squad reassures him.

For coach Vahid Halilhodzic, Morocco made a good choice in recruiting Zakaria Aboukhlal. "I am quite happy to discover this player who plays on the right, on the left, in depth, who is quite sturdy and who is not afraid to go into the duel." According to him, the brand new Moroccan international can "play for the national team for 10 years".