Morocco head coach Walid Regragui is set to prepare for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations without a number of his first-team regulars, as the scheduling of the FIFA Club World Cup threatens to derail the Atlas Lions’ plans.
Morocco, who will host the upcoming edition of the continental tournament, are due to face Tunisia and Benin in a pair of international friendlies on 7 and 10 June respectively.
These matches, intended as key preparation fixtures, have now been overshadowed by a growing list of absentees.
Several players, including Paris Saint-Germain full-back Achraf Hakimi, Real Madrid midfielder Brahim Diaz, and goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, are set to miss the friendlies due to their commitments with their respective clubs participating in the Club World Cup.
The same applies to Adam Aznou, Soufiane Rahimi, Jamal Harkas, El Mehdi Benabid, Yahya Attiat Allah, and Achraf Dari — all of whom are unavailable for selection as a result of the club tournament.
Regragui, already juggling a demanding preparation schedule ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, now finds himself forced to make significant adjustments to his squad.
The coach will also be without key defenders Romain Saïss, Nayef Aguerd, and Chadi Riad, who are all sidelined through injury and have not yet returned to full fitness.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) confirmed the fixtures against Tunisia and Benin in a statement published on its official website, noting that the friendlies form an important part of the national team’s build-up for both continental and global competitions.
However, the timing of the Club World Cup, which overlaps with the national team’s training window, has placed Regragui in a difficult position. With a large core of his usual starting XI absent, the coach is likely to turn to fringe players and emerging domestic talent to fill the gaps.
While the friendlies remain a crucial opportunity to assess squad depth and experiment tactically, the absence of so many key figures inevitably limits the extent to which Regragui can simulate the conditions of a full-strength competitive match.
It is an untimely disruption in what should have been a seamless preparation phase ahead of a highly anticipated Africa Cup of Nations campaign.
The two upcoming matches also hold symbolic significance, particularly the fixture against Tunisia — a regional rival with a long-standing footballing history with Morocco.
The match against Benin, meanwhile, offers a contrasting style of play that could have served as a valuable test for the squad’s tactical adaptability.
Instead, Regragui must now strike a balance between managing short-term disruptions and maintaining focus on the broader objective: a strong showing on home soil when the Africa Cup of Nations gets underway.
As June approaches, all eyes will be on how Morocco’s coaching staff navigate this challenging period, and whether the team’s depth can compensate for the absence of some of its most experienced and influential players.
