Morocco’s Samy Mmaee Questions National Team Snub Amid Club Success

Still excluded, Samy Mmaee reacted to the list of players called up for the Atlas Lions’ upcoming matches against Gabon, scheduled for September 6, and Lesotho, on September 9, during the first and second rounds of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN 2025) qualifiers. "In the end, it seems to be personal," comments the Belgian-Moroccan player in a post on his Instagram account. His remarks were supported by sports observers. "The fact that Samy Mmaee has led Dinamo Zagreb to the Champions League did not allow him to be on the list," while Walid Regragui "has called up Achraf Dari, who is far from the competition," criticizes sports analyst Mohamed Maghoudi. According to him, there is "no logic" on the part of the coach of the Moroccan national team Regragui.

Since Walid Regragui’s arrival as head of the Atlas Lions, Samy Mmaee and his brother Rayan have no longer been called up to the national team, even though they are at the peak of their form and performing well with their club. In 2016, Samy won the Belgian Cup with Standard Liège. Loaned for a season to MVV Maastricht, he signed a three-year contract with Saint-Trond in 2018. In 2021, he joined Ferencváros TC, a club with which he won the championship and the Hungarian Cup in 2022.