Morocco’s Defense Woes Cast Shadow on Africa Cup of Nations Prospects

Is there a reason to worry about the Moroccan team? Injured, sick or out of form defenders are among the 27 players called up by national coach Walid Regragui to participate in the next CAN in Côte d’Ivoire. Romain Saïss, the captain of the Atlas Lions, is suffering from a calf problem that justifies his absence from the last match of his club, Al-Shabab FC. The situation of his teammate Nayef Aguerd, also a central defender, is not very flattering either. "He is sick," his coach David Moyes recently said, however without giving more details on the duration of the Moroccan international’s absence.

Noussair Mazraoui, who shines at Bayern Munich, has also been injured in the calf and will be unavailable for a few weeks. A blow for the coach of the Atlas Lions who was counting on him. It is inconceivable to exclude "an important framework of the national team, even if he will not be ready to play until the round of 16 of the CAN," said Walid Regragui when announcing the list of selected players. The other major difficulty is that players likely to replace these defenders are inexperienced at this level or lacking in confidence. This is the case of Chadi Riad, Abdel Abqar and Yahya Attiat Allah.