Morocco’s Regragui to Recall World Cup Veterans for Crucial Qualifiers

For these two decisive matches scheduled for June 7 and 11 respectively, Regragui plans to call on Romain Saïss and Nayef Aguerd to strengthen the defense of the Atlas Lions. The Moroccan coach intends to recall these two players who contributed to the exceptional run of the Moroccan national team at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, for three reasons: first, their experience at the African level and their on-field chemistry; then, the lack of experience of Chadi Riad and Abdou Harroui; and finally, to avoid the defensive errors committed by the latter during the friendly matches against Angola and Mauritania in March.

Romain Saïss, 34, and Nayef Aguerd, 28, have always been starters for the Moroccan national team matches. The two players are accustomed to big matches, having participated in the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the recent 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire. Their statistics with the national team are quite interesting and seem to reinforce Regragui’s position, who wants to be able to count on them for the matches against Zambia and Congo.

On the other hand, Chadi Riad, 21, and Abdou Harraoui, 25, have each played only one match with the Atlas Lions. Walid Regragui was not impressed by Abdou Harroui’s performance, who committed many defensive errors and failed to compose with Nayef Aguerd during the friendly match against Angola. The Moroccan coach was also not satisfied with Chadi Riad’s performances during the match against Mauritania, which is why he plans to recall Romain Saïss for the matches against Zambia and Congo. The captain of the Atlas Lions had been sidelined for the previous matches, although he is performing well with his club, Al Shabab.