Nice Midfielder Sofiane Diop Opens Up About Joining Morocco National Team

"Like every player who has joined the selection before, Walid welcomed me well. We talked a lot. He is a coach who encourages exchange, he likes to know the feelings of his players. [...] On the football level, we speak the same language. When I didn’t understand, I asked him the question and he explained it to me," says Sofiane Diop, met on Friday at the Club des 5. He will add: "He tested me in training in several positions, on the right or on the left, even in the 8. This gives him several strings to his bow. We are all different, with varied profiles. On the right side, there is Hakim Ziyech, on the left, there is Abde, in the middle, Harit, Ounahi, Amrabat. We all have different characteristics, and he (Regragui) is satisfied with them."

Returning to the choice of his sports nationality, he makes a confession to the press: "I decided to call Walid Regragui myself to tell him that I wanted to play for Morocco." Solicited by Senegal and Morocco, the countries of his parents, the Franco-Senegalese-Moroccan player preferred to join the den of the Atlas Lions.

The former member of the French Under-21 team and AS Monaco had been selected in the list of players called up by Walid Regragui for the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. He was also on the extended list of 55 players pre-called up by coach Walid Regragui who will participate in the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) to be held from January 13 to February 11, 2024 in Côte d’Ivoire. Injured at the end of the first half during the match between Nice and Toulouse (1-0) on Sunday, November 27 as part of the 14th day of Ligue 1, he is absent from the list of 27 players called up for the continental showpiece. A fracture of the third metatarsal will keep him off the pitch for at least six weeks.