Morocco Coach Regragui Omits Domestic Players for World Cup Qualifiers

Apart from the AS FAR goalkeeper, Mehdi Benabid, no other player from the Moroccan champion is part of the players called up for the matches against Zambia and Congo scheduled for June 7 and 11 as part of the 2026 World Cup qualifications to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Walid Regragui has excluded players, such as the right-back of Wydad Athletic Club, Ayoub El Amloud, and the captain of the FAR team, Mohamed Rabie Hrimat. In a press conference on Tuesday, the coach of the Moroccan national team explained that he made this decision for "personal convictions". He was also intransigent, hammering that he will not call up any player to satisfy supporters or specific individuals.

According to observers of the national team, the failure of domestic clubs in African competitions, and their premature elimination from the CAF Champions League, with the exception of the players of Renaissance de Berkane, who have also not made their mark in the CAF Confederation Cup, is one of the main reasons that led Walid Regragui to focus his choice on professionals playing in certain European and Arab clubs. They also mentioned other objective factors, notably the performance of the called-up players in the European leagues, and their victories with their clubs in continental and local competitions. Some also explain that the technical performance of players in the local championship is well below that of professionals abroad.

Several other reasons justify the choice made by the coach of the Atlas Lions: the weakness of the technical level of the national championship over the last two years, especially after the departure of several young talents to Europe to pursue their professional careers, the inability of players in the national championship to compete with Moroccan internationals Sofyan Amrabat, Azzedine Ounahi, Hakim Ziyech, Brahim Diaz, etc. Beyond these reasons, Morocco’s recent participation in the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast has nevertheless shown the importance of proposing an appropriate solution and combination between local championship players and professional players, analyze other observers, considering that this is rather the biggest challenge to be met.