Morocco's AFCON 2023 Squad Revealed
After an impressive run in the 2022 World Cup where they secured a fourth-place finish, surprising everyone by knocking out Portugal and Spain to reach the semifinals, the Moroccan national team has announced its squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The tournament will take place between January 13th and February 11th in Ivory Coast, where Morocco is considered one of the top contenders for the title.
The squad list consists of 27 players, featuring three goalkeepers, nine defenders, six midfielders, and nine forwards, as announced by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) on their website.
Notable inclusions are Achraf Hakimi, the Paris Saint-Germain defender, Sevilla's forward Youssef En-Nesyri, two Betis players—forward Abde Ezzalzouli and defender Chadi Riad, PSV Eindhoven's forward Ismael Saibari, Al Hilal's goalkeeper Yassine Bono, Galatasaray's Hakim Ziyech, Bayern Munich's Noussair Mazraoui, and Manchester United's Sofyan Amrabet.
Also among the called-up players are Valencia midfielder Selim Amallah and Deportivo Alavés defender Abdelkabir Abqar, with the Spanish League, alongside the French League, having the most representation on this list with five players each.
Fourteen of those called up by Regragui were part of Morocco's squad in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, where the Moroccan team reached the quarterfinals for the first time in the history of an African and Arab team.
In the CAN, Morocco is placed in Group F and will face Congo, Zambia, and Tanzania.
The list of the 27 called-up players:
Goalkeepers: Yassin Bono (Al Hilal), Munir El Kajoui (Al Wehda), and El Mehdi Benabid (AS FAR).
Defenders: Achraf Hakimi (PSG), Mohamed Chibi (Pyramids), Abdelkabir Abqar (Deportivo Alavés), Nayef Aguerd (West Ham), Romain Saïss (Al Shabab), Yunis Abdelhamid (Stade de Reims), Chadi Riad (Betis), Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich), Yahya Attiat Allah (Wydad).
Midfielders: Selim Amallah (Valencia), Amir Richardson (Stade de Reims), Oussama El Azzouzi (Bologna FC), Sofyan Amrabat (Manchester United), Azzedine Ounahi (Olympique de Marsella), and Bilal El Khannouss (KRC Genk).
Forwards: Hakim Ziyech (Galatasaray), Ismail Saibari (PSV Eindhoven), Amine Adli (Bayer Leverkusen), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiakos), Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla), Tarik Tissoudali (KAA Gante), Amine Harit (Olympique de Marsella), Abde Ezzalzouli (Betis), and Sofiane Boufal (Al Rayyan).
