Waleed El-Rakraki, the coach of the Moroccan national team, shed light on the inclusion of Nacer Mazraoui and Sofiane Boufal in the final squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations 2023.
The roster reveals the presence of Nacer Mazraoui, the Bayern Munich defender who missed recent matches due to injury, and Sofiane Boufal, the Qatari club Al Rayyan winger, who recently recovered from an injury.
Speaking at a press conference reported by the Moroccan Championship website, El-Rakraki stated, “Nacer Mazraoui suffered an injury with Bayern, and the team’s doctor traveled to Munich to assess the severity of his injury.”
“Bayer expected Mazraoui’s absence to be six weeks, while we expected it to be three or four weeks after the player underwent medical examinations,” he added.
El-Rakraki emphasized the importance of Mazraoui to the team, expressing the intent to prepare him for participation in the second or third match of the tournament, or, if necessary, for the Round of 16 if Morocco advances.
As a result, Mazraoui will miss the opening match against Tanzania on January 17th but is expected to return for subsequent fixtures against the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.
El-Rakraki faced a challenging decision in selecting Sofiane Boufal, considering the player’s struggles with Al Rayyan in terms of making the team’s squad list and inability to participate in Qatari league matches.
However, Boufal played in the cup competition and is expected to feature against Qatar.
“I follow Boufal and communicate with him. He is a player I trust, and I believe in his capabilities.
He can help us in the Africa Cup of Nations,” El-Rakraki stated, highlighting the player’s experience and potential contributions to the team.
In conclusion, El-Rakraki relies on the squad that led Morocco to secure the fourth position in the 2022 World Cup.
Notably absent from the list is Abdel Razak Hamdallah, the striker for Saudi club Al-Ittihad.
The Moroccan squad for the Africa Cup of Nations includes:
**Goalkeepers:** Yassine Bounou, Munir El Haddadi, Mehdi Benabid.
**Defenders:** Achraf Hakimi, Naif Akrd, Romain Saiss, Nacer Mazraoui, Yahya Atallah, Younes Abdelhamid, Shady Riyadh, Abdelkabir Abqar, Mohamed El Shebby.
**Midfielders:** Amine Richardson, Aziz Din Onahi, Sofiane Amrabat, Osama Al Azouzi, Slim Amallakh, Bilal El Khnous, Ismail Al Sibaari, Amin Harith.
**Forwards:** Hakim Ziyech, Amin Adli, Sofiane Boufal, Tariq Tisoudali, Abdel Samad Al Zalzali, Youssef El-Nusairi, Ayoub El Kaabi.
The tournament is set to take place in Ivory Coast from January 13th to February 11th, with 24 participating teams, marking the third edition after 2019 and 2021. Morocco is placed in a group alongside Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania.
