AFCON favourites Morocco confirm tournament squad

World Cup semi-finalists Morocco carry the title of AFCON tournament favourites as they are the highest ranked African team in FIFA’s latest world rankings, sitting in 13th, seven places clear of reigning champions Senegal.

Manager Walid Regragui has announced his squad for the African Cup of Nations and his men will be ultra confident in their chances of winning Morocco’s first AFCON crown since 1976.

The side topped Group K in qualifying, albeit not as convincingly as they would have wished, losing to South Africa in their final outing.

Qatar clean sheets

The Atlas Lions defensive efforts in Qatar were simply outstanding as Yassine Bounou was beaten only once on their historic journey to the semi-finals. Clean sheets against Croatia, Belgium, Spain and Portugal were key in the Moroccans becoming the first African team to ever reach the final four. All of this makes it hard to believe that Regragui was only appointed a mere two months before the tournament began.

Since the defeat to Tunisia in the 2004 final, it took Morocco 13 years to advance from the group stages again. They have fallen to Egypt at the quarter-final stage twice in the last three tournaments, with Egypt finishing as runners-up on both occasions.

The squad’s discipline is exceptional with Sofiane Boufal being the only player to receive a red card for his country since 2015. Boufal, currently plying his trade in Qatar, has previously lit up both Ligue 1 and the Premier League with his mesmerising dribbling ability. He top scored for Morocco at the last AFCON with three goals to his name. 

Standout players

Dominant centre-back Romain Saïss is renowned for his key role in Nuno Espírito Santo’s high-flying Wolves when they were originally promoted to the Premier League. The defender, who is lining out for a club side in Qatar, is the squad’s most capped player and has captained Morocco for four years.

Talisman Hakim Ziyech has all the potential required to light up this tournament as he did with Ajax during their famous Champions League run in 2019, when he netted at the Bernabéu after 7 minutes. The Dutch born winger is still on the books at Chelsea, with whom he won the competition with in 2022, and is enjoying a loan spell at Galatasaray this season. Ziyech is Morocco’s active top goalscorer with 23 goals and will be aiming to catch Ahmed Faras on 36 before his playing days are over.

Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri, one of nine Moroccan-born players in Regragui’s squad, is the country’s only player to have scored at each of the last three AFCONs. In addition to his two goals in Qatar, the 26-year-old bagged twice in Morocco’s most recent friendly against Sierra Leone and won his second Europa League trophy last season. Voted Best Moroccan Player Abroad for the first time last season, En-Nesyri will soon be thinking about surpassing Faras’ goal tally with his 19 international goals to date.

Achraf Hakimi is the second Champions League winner in the squad and by far the most decorated player. The Spanish born right-back has won major honours in all of Europe’s top five leagues bar the Premier League. Only captain Romain Saïss has made more appearances than the 25 year-old PSG man.

Hakimi has unerringly strong form for his country, as he netted twice at the last AFCON and featured in the most recent World Cup Team of the Tournament. The former Real Madrid player should shine brightly yet again over the course of the next month.

The partnership between Saïss and Nayef Aguerd is easily one of the strongest at the tournament. The Conference League winner has only been part of two league clean sheets with West Ham this season and will be looking to avenge this feat in Côte d'Ivoire.

Bayern Munich’s Noussair Mazraoui completes the most formidable defence in the tournament and will feature at left-back. The former Ajax Talent of the Year made his international debut in 2018 and has amassed 30 caps. The German-based player has enjoyed an extended winter break in order to aid his preparations for the tournament.

One of six squad members playing in the Middle East, Bono came third in the Yashin Trophy voting in 2023. No goalkeeper kept more clean sheets nor had a higher penalty save percentage at the 2022 World Cup. The 32 year-old’s experience will be absolutely vital, especially towards the business end of the tournament as Morocco aim to win their first AFCON title in 58 years.

The second Premier League player in the squad is Fiorentina loanee Sofyan Amrabat. The current Red Devil attracted serious attention from numerous top clubs with his outstanding tough-tackling performances in Qatar, as he protected an already impermeable back four.

Amrabat has been criticised throughout the season, along with most of his clubmates, however he is more than capable of rediscovering his international form in a side he has made in excess of half a century of appearances for.

Morocco Squad:

Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia), Munir Mohamedi (Al Wehda, Saudi Arabia), Mehdi Benabid (AS FAR, Morocco).

Defenders: Achraf Hakimi (Paris St-Germain, France), Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich, Germany), Yahya Attiat Allah (Wydad Casablanca, Morocco), Nayef Aguerd (West Ham, England), Romain Saïss (Al Shabab, Saudi Arabia), Yunis Abdelhamid (Reims, France), Chadi Riad (Real Betis, Spain), Abdel Abqar (Alaves, Spain), Mohamed Chibi (Pyramids, Egypt).

Midfielders: Amir Richardson (Reims, France), Sofyan Amrabat (Manchester United, England), Oussama El Azzouzi (Bologna, Italy), Selim Amallah (Valencia, Spain), Bilal El Khannouss (Genk, Belgium), Azzedine Ounahi (Marseille, France), Ismael Saibari (PSV, Netherlands), Amine Harit (Marseille, France).

Forwards: Hakim Ziyech (Galatasaray, Turkey), Amine Adli (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Abde Ezzalzouli (Real Betis, Spain), Sofiane Boufal (Al Rayyan, Qatar), Tarik Tissoudali (Gent, Belgium), Youssef En-Nesyri (Seville, Spain), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos, Greece).

AFCON explainer ahead of tournament kick-off next week https://t.co/CSlq73yjZQpic.twitter.com/gqhoKHQtsi

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) January 3, 2024