Lamine Yamal opened up like never before in a long interview with the American TV show ’60 Minutes’ on CBS. The prodigy winger of FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team looked back on his beginnings, his personal life, and addressed the issue of his choice of sports nationality without beating around the bush.
The Lamine Yamal case is closed, but the analysis of his sports choice continues to be debated. Nasser Larguet, former technical director of Moroccan football, believes that the Kingdom lost the battle for the FC Barcelona prodigy due to a late start, leaving the Spanish federation free to secure the player.
The expansion of the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams has radically changed the situation for Asian qualifications. With eight direct places now available, compared to four previously, many nations are dreaming of participation and have intensified their naturalization programs for players born abroad .
Ignored by Belgium, Moncef Zekri has finally decided to play for Morocco, with whom he won the U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) this year, and he dreams of going to the 2026 World Cup. On the club side, the young talent is on the radar of several top European clubs, but he prefers to continue his adventure at KV Malines.
Lamine Yamal watched from afar as Morocco won the U20 World Cup in Chile. The Barcelona prodigy, born in Spain to a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother, had declined the offer to play for Morocco, preferring to join La Roja.
It is now official: the player Anass Salah Eddine has just changed his sporting nationality by joining the Moroccan team. He also had the possibility of playing for the Netherlands.
Moroccan international Youssef Lekhedim has reflected on his decision to defend the colors of Morocco, the country of origin of his mother.
More and more dual-national players are turning their backs on the Netherlands and choosing Morocco as their sporting nationality. A brain drain that worries the Dutch Football Association.
Rayane Bounida, the young Moroccan prodigy of Ajax, was not called up by Gill Swerts, the coach of the Diablotins (Belgian U21s), for the upcoming matches against Wales and Denmark, scheduled for Friday, October 10 and Tuesday, October 14. An absence that fuels rumors about a change in the player’s sporting nationality in favor of Morocco.
FIFA has just validated the change in sports nationality of Mohamed Ihattaren, midfielder of the Dutch club Fortuna Sittard, thus confirming his decision to join the Atlas Lions. The 23-year-old player explains his choice to defend the colors of the Moroccan flag rather than those of the Netherlands, the country where he was born.
Rayane Bounida, a midfielder for Ajax Amsterdam, has expressed his intention to choose Morocco as his sporting nationality.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has decided to permanently exclude the player Anouar Ait El Hadj from any future national team selection. This decision, taken in coordination with the technical management, comes despite the recent apologies of the player from the Belgian club of Saint-Gilloise regarding his past choices of sports nationality.