Morocco Captain Romain Saïss Reportedly Mulls International Retirement

Will Romain Saïss retire from international football? The defender of the Atlas Lions is said to be seriously considering putting an end to his adventure with the Atlas Lions, believes the media Al Araby, adding that he intends to leave the place to the young generation. Chadi Riad, who put in good performances in the match against Congo in the 4th round of the 2026 World Cup African qualifiers, which Morocco won 6-0, could be his successor. The Moroccan right-back of PSG Achraf Hakimi is also tipped to become the next captain of the Atlas Lions in place of the central defender of Al-Shabab FC. Romain was not called up for the two international break matches of the Atlas Lions against Angola (1-0) and Mauritania (0-0). He also did not participate in Morocco’s match against Congo (6-0) in the 4th round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

In the past, his international retirement had been mentioned, but the Atlas Lion had given up on it, his wish being to participate in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire. Romain is one of the architects of the historic run of the Moroccan team at the 2021 World Cup in Qatar. He holds the record for the most captaincies of the Tanière at a World Cup with 7 matches, surpassing Badou Zaki with 4 matches.