Morocco Coach Reconciles with Mazraoui, Ziyech Return Speculation Grows

The pressure from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) on the Franco-Bosnian coach has started to pay off. A few days ago, Vahid Halilhodzic, during a meeting in Amsterdam, smoked the peace pipe with Ajax star Noussair Mazraoui, who has not played for the national team since the friendly match against the Democratic Republic of Congo on October 13, 2020.

The other much-awaited reconciliation is that between the Atlas Lions coach and Moroccan international Hakim Ziyech, who had announced in January that he would no longer play for Morocco. Vahid Halilhodzic should meet him in the coming days. He had been threatened with dismissal in the meantime because of the rift between him and the Chelsea star. The latter is the linchpin of the Moroccan team, whose return is eagerly awaited.

Morocco needs Noussair Mazraoui and Hakim Ziyech. The Atlas Lions will participate in the next 2022 World Cup, which will take place in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022. In the meantime, they have a few games to prepare. The Moroccan team will face the United States in Cincinnati on June 2, then host South Africa in their first qualifying match for the Africa Cup of Nations on June 9 in Rabat. Their away qualifying match against Liberia has been relocated to Casablanca on June 13.