Morocco Coach Regragui Faces Tough Selection Dilemma Ahead of World Cup Qualifier

Walid Regragui will have a hard time putting Moroccan Olympiacos striker Ayoub El Kaabi and Moroccan Sevilla FC striker on the bench. With 11 goals, the former was named 2023/24 UEFA Europa Conference League Player of the Season by the UEFA Technical Observers Panel. El Kaabi has, through his very good performances, offered the Europa Conference League to the Greek club. His profile as a goalscorer and his values of resilience are fascinating. He now appears to be an indispensable element in the attack of the Atlas Lions. Youssef En-Nesyri also shone this season. He scored 20 goals and provided three assists in 41 games in all competitions. The 26-year-old player ended his season with Sevilla by scoring a goal against Barcelona. The Atlas Lion has become the club’s all-time top scorer. He is also in the Top 3 of the best headers (20 goals), across all leagues.

These performances could motivate Walid Regragui to line up El Kaabi and En-Nesyri for the match against Zambia scheduled for June 7 at the Grand Stade d’Agadir, and the match against Congo scheduled for June 11 in Kinshasa for the 3rd and 4th rounds of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which will be co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States. The coach of the Moroccan national team "usually relies on only one striker, whether in the ’4-2-3-1’ formation, the ’5-4-1’ or the ’4-3-3’, the latter formation using wingers on the right and left sides with a single striker," it is reported.