Morocco Lures Top Young Footballers Away from European National Teams

Osame Sahraoui is the new recruit of the Moroccan national team. Recently, he turned his back on Norway and chose to defend the colors of the Moroccan flag. After defending the colors of Norway in a single match, he refused a call-up from the Norwegian national team coach, Ståle Solbakken, who needs him to strengthen the national team for a match against Scotland in the Nations League.

Walid Regragui, coach of the Moroccan national team, even called up Sahraoui for the match against the Central African Republic, scheduled for October, counting towards the qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) in Morocco. Considered versatile, the 23-year-old player can be positioned as a winger and attacking midfielder. He could be a valuable asset for the Moroccan team, which wants to achieve good performances during the 2025 CAN qualifiers, which will take place from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026 in Morocco, and win the continental title at home.

Before Osame, several dual-national players have chosen Morocco as their sporting nationality to the detriment of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain. Among them are Couhaib Driouech, a Dutch-Moroccan star of the Moroccan under-23 national team, Adnan El Boujjoufi, who played for the Netherlands under-15s, and the 13-year-old Belgian-Moroccan prodigy Ilyes Bennane, and the Spanish-Moroccan striker of Real Madrid Brahim Diaz.

Currently, Morocco is trying to snatch Ayyoub Bouaddi, who became the youngest player to play pro at 16 years and 3 days, in France. Summoned by the French Football Federation to represent the French under-20 team, he is in the sights of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF). The latter is trying to influence his decision. The two countries are seduced by the performances of the rising star of LOSC Lille. "He has shown all the potential, all the talent he has. We know what he is capable of. He is a boy with a very well-made head. He has the talent to play at this level. We need to know how to confirm, but I don’t think there is too much to worry about on that side with him," his coach Bruno Génésio said in a post-match press conference Lille-Real Madrid.

The exploits achieved by the Moroccan national football team under the management of Walid Regragui, particularly the historic run of the Atlas Lions at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, explain the choice of dual-national players to join the den of the Atlas Lions. "What pleased me is that he refused Norway to play for Morocco. Today, everyone wants to play for the national team, unlike the past period when we had to make efforts to convince dual-national players to make this choice," said the Franco-Moroccan technician, commenting on the change of sporting nationality of Osame Sahraoui.

Other factors are in favor of Morocco. In an interview with RTBF, the Belgo-Moroccan Khalid Zinbi, a recruiter for the Belgian youth teams, said that players of Moroccan origin are often despised because they tend to be "smaller, thinner, more technical, they have a less imposing physique" than the coaches do not favor when forming a team. This is why "many players think there is a ’xenophobia of football’ for this type of training - so as soon as they have an exit door, the possibility of representing another country, they make this choice," he added.