Morocco’s Ryan Mmaee Opens Up About National Team Choice Ahead of World Cup

In an interview with So Foot, the Belgian-born striker, along with his brother Samy, spoke at length about his family, his club, but also his joy at wearing the Moroccan jersey.

"Roger Milla had indeed intended to come to our place. I don’t know if he met my parents, but my father was pushing for me to play for Cameroon, and my mother was leaving us the choice. We felt, with my brother, that Morocco was the country that suited us best in relation to the atmosphere we had at home," said Ryan Mmaee. "We have a strong bond with our mother, we received more of a Moroccan education, we have always lived in this environment," he added to justify his decision to wear the Moroccan jersey instead of Cameroon, his father’s country of origin.

Absent during the last African campaign in Cameroon, due to injury, the young striker aims to participate in the next World Cup in Qatar. "We want to write history with Morocco, that’s what all Moroccans are waiting for," said the player, who does not consider his participation as a given.

And he added: "on my side, I work to the maximum to be selected, it’s an opportunity that may not present itself again, we don’t know. We also have to be careful when we see all the injuries just before the World Cup. Being both, with my brother Samy, in Qatar, would be the pinnacle of pride for our mother."