Morocco Coach Seeks Defensive Solutions for Upcoming CAN Qualifiers

Injured, the central defender of the Atlas Lions, Chadi Riad, will be absent from the field for three months, forcing Walid Regragui to find a replacement for the upcoming matches counting towards the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) Morocco 2025.

For the matches against Gabon and Lesotho, played on September 6 and 9 respectively, the Moroccan coach fielded Yunis Abdelhamid, a 36-year-old defender playing for Saint-Étienne, and Abdelkabir Abqar, a defender from Deportivo Alavés in Spain.

Apparently not satisfied with their performance in these confrontations, Regragui is considering calling up other players to strengthen the defense of the Atlas Lions in the two matches against the Central African Republic scheduled for October.

According to well-informed sources, the Moroccan coach is considering the possibility of summoning Mehdi Boukamir, who shone with the Moroccan team during the Paris Olympics, or Ayman El Wafi, a defender from the Swiss club Lugano.

Samy Mmaee, a defender from the Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb, and Jawad El Yamiq, a defender from the Saudi club Al Wehda, could also make a comeback in the national team.