Morocco Coach Faces Backlash Over National Team Selection for AFCON Qualifiers

The list unveiled by the Bosnian coach, as part of the 3rd and 4th rounds of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in Cameroon, is causing controversy on social media. According to Al Akhbar, the fans of the Atlas Lions criticize the coach’s decision to call up players who have not yet made their selection choice.

Among them are Nassim Boujellab who plays for Schalke 04, Aymen Barkok the midfielder who plays for Düsseldorf, and Rafik Zekhnini from FC Twente.

Rafik Zekhnini is still hesitating between the Moroccan and Norwegian selections. In addition to these elements, there are also the cases of Yassine Ben Rahou, who is having a good season with his club Nîmes, Moha Rharsalla, who plays in Slovenia for Solvan Bratislava, and who has already played for the U17s of Morocco with Driss Saddiki from Willem II.

Also, Vahid Halilhodzic is criticized for the presence of 9 Botola players also selected by Houcine Amouta, for his training camp for the 2020 CHAN in Cameroon. This dual presence of players on the two lists casts doubt on the collaboration between the two coaches.

Furthermore, the supporters of the Atlas Lions questioned the relevance of some choices, including Fayçal Fajr, the Getafe midfielder, absent for 9 games, Noussair Mezraoui, the Ajax Amsterdam defender, absent due to injury, or Soufiane Boufal, who fails to convince his coach at Southampton.