Morocco’s Coach Regragui Courts Barcelona Prodigy Lamine Yamal for National Team

On Friday, the publication of photos of the national coach and the Barça winger went viral on social media. Walid Regragui and Lamine Yamal are said to have met in a restaurant, the former trying to convince the latter to join the Moroccan team, according to local media. Before this meeting, a photo showing the young player, his father and his agent in the company of the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Fouzi Lekjaâ, had been circulated on social networks.

Born in Spain to a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother, Lamine Yamal, 16, is on the radar of both Morocco and Spain. The Moroccan sports authorities expect him to agree to defend the colors of Morocco. The meeting with Fouzi Lekjaâ could lead the young player to choose his sporting nationality. It remains to be seen whether he will be on the list that the national coach, Walid Regragui, is about to unveil at the press conference next Tuesday at the Mohammed VI football complex in Maâmora.

For its part, Spain is also putting its full weight to snatch Lamine. He has made promising debuts in the youth categories of Barça and the Spanish team (U15, U16, U17 and U19). Yamal is on the provisional list of Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente and could be officially announced as early as September 1, according to the Catalan daily Sport. His absence from Lamine Yamal’s list for the Spain U18 team could confirm this information.