Morocco Lures Another Belgian Prospect as El Ouahdi Chooses Atlas Lions

The hemorrhage continues and frustration rises a notch in Belgium. The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) watches, visibly disappointed, as young talents trained in the country choose to defend other national colors. The recent case of Chemsdine Talbi had already provoked an initial hardening of tone. But Zakaria El Ouahdi’s decision to also opt for Morocco proves that the warnings were not enough and is now pushing the Federation to issue a barely veiled ultimatum.

The trend is not new, but it has accelerated. Chemsdine Talbi (FC Bruges), revelation of the season, chose Morocco despite a complete journey through Belgian youth teams. Konstantinos Karetsas (KRC Genk) did the same for Greece. Faced with these choices, the National Technical Director, Vincent Mannaert, had already expressed his irritation, speaking of "disappointments" from which we had to "learn". He was already insisting on the need to obtain a clear answer from players before selecting them.

However, this clarification did not prevent Zakaria El Ouahdi (23 years old, KRC Genk) from confirming his choice for the Atlas Lions, with a first call-up to the A team announced this week. This new "defection" reinforces the RBFA’s exasperation and pushes it to adopt a much harder line, while other talents like Rayane Bounida or Stanis Idumbo are at a crossroads.

"They were born here and educated here in Belgium, where clubs have invested a lot of time and energy. And if at some point they cannot choose Belgium, it’s their right, but we will continue with the players who want to," Vincent Mannaert had reaffirmed to the Sporza website, raising his tone. The message was therefore clear: "We clearly ask them to choose Belgium or not," he insists. "For those who hesitate, I would like to advise them to make choices. [...] We will specify this very clearly before making a selection."

Despite these threats, several other Belgian-Moroccans are currently being targeted by Morocco, much to Belgium’s dismay.