Rédaction Africa Links 24 with ALM
Published on 2024-03-22 00:47:55
The new players called up for the upcoming two friendly matches of the Moroccan national football team against Angola and Mauritania are integrating well into the group, reassured the national coach, Walid Regragui, on Thursday in Agadir.
Regragui has indeed called up 24 players, including several notable newcomers, such as Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz, the young prodigy from the same club Youssef Lekhedim (18 years old), Villareal FC player Ilias Akhomach, and AS Monaco player Eliesse Ben Seghir, who will wear the Atlas Lions jersey for the first time in the friendly matches scheduled at the Grand Stade in Agadir, facing the Angolan team on March 22 and the Mauritanian team four days later.
“The adaptation to the group is going well. Some young players have already played with the Olympic team, and are already accustomed. Others have friends in the team since they play against each other, like Diaz and Hakimi,” said Regragui during the pre-match press conference against Angola.
“Adaptation is not a problem. We have a group that has been living well together for quite some time, and every time there are new players, we help each other to integrate them and show them the value of wearing the national jersey,” said the national coach.
“What I like is the dynamic that drives this team. Despite the disappointment of the AFCON, there are players who want to play for the national team, which is why we need to give them time to integrate into the team. These talented players will be useful for the future,” he said.
Regarding the two friendly matches, Regragui emphasized that they come after the AFCON. “We are entering a new cycle in preparation for the next World Cup qualifiers. We have chosen two matches that seem very interesting to us, with a team that reached the quarter-finals of the AFCON and another team that reached the round of 16. It will be a good test for us to prepare for the upcoming competitions,” he said.
Regarding injuries, he mentioned that Amine Adli felt some pain this week. “We will see tomorrow if we can take the risk or spare him in preparation for the Tuesday match,” he said.
Looking back on the call-up of Brahim Diaz, Regragui confirmed that “there has been work in progress since I took office, with the federation president, for a year and a half.”
“The issue was not easy. It was more a question of timing than the player’s choice,” he explained, adding: “When I went to meet him (Diaz), he was in Milan, before making a significant transfer to Real Madrid. At the same time, there was an AFCON that was not easy for someone with a progression axis like Brahim. Let’s not lie to ourselves, when choosing an African team, it can play a role in a transfer. After joining Real Madrid, we had his word and he kept it.”
“He is a great player and he proves it every weekend. We can only be delighted to have a player from Real Madrid in the national team. For me, he will win the hearts of Moroccans because he chose Morocco over Spain. Besides, he is arriving at a difficult time for us, after a competition where we were not at our best, and not after the World Cup, when there was a momentum,” Regragui said.
“There is also Eliesse Ben Seghir, a very promising player in France, who chose Morocco at 19, which is significant. He is a player who will have his say in the future. He needs time to reach his full potential and we will support him,” emphasized the national coach.
In addition to the newcomers and the cadre of the national team, Ragragui’s list sees the return of Al-Ain’s player Soufiane Rahimi, who has been in good form recently.
Read the original article(French) on Aujourdhui.ma
