Real Madrid Prodigy Yusi Chooses Morocco Over Spain for International Career

"Proud to be called up for the first time to play with the Moroccan national team," Yusi writes in an Instagram post, accompanied by a photo of him in the Atlas Lions jersey. Born in Madrid on October 7, 2005 to a Spanish father and a Moroccan mother, the young Real Madrid prodigy holds dual Spanish and Moroccan nationality. In June, he attended the match between the Atlas Lions and Cape Verde in Rabat, which ended in a goalless draw (0-0).

This decision by the 17-year-old player comes after the choice of the Hispano-Moroccan-Equatorial Guinean Lamine Yamal, the youngest player in FC Barcelona’s history, to play for Spain instead of Morocco. Subjected to pressure from the Spanish media, the 16-year-old player finally decided. On Friday, he accepted the call-up from Spain’s head coach, Luis de la Fuente, and will therefore play on September 8 against Georgia and on September 12 against Cyprus.

Morocco and Spain have engaged in a fierce battle to snatch dual-national players in recent years, reports AS, citing the case of Abde Ezzalzouli, a winger for FC Barcelona, and Munir El Haddadi, a striker for UD Las Palmas. The two Moroccan players had been relentlessly urged to commit to the Spanish national team. To maintain the pressure, the Spanish media spread rumors that they would choose Spain over Morocco. But the two dual-nationals did not succumb to the pressure. They chose to join the Atlas Lions’ den.

Regarding Yusi’s case, the Spanish sports daily states that "the Atlas Lions are not making any moves for him to debut with the senior national team. This was the Moroccan strategy with Achraf Hakimi, who had captivated Luis de la Fuente (then coach of our U-19 team), and the prospect of debuting at such a young age - he did it at 18 - at the highest level with Morocco tipped the balance in favor of this country."