Nayef Aguerd is on the list of 26 players named by Mohamed Ouahbi, Morocco’s head coach, to face Niger. A return to the national team after a long injury that Bruno Genesio, his coach at OM, considers very difficult to cope with mentally.
Olympique de Marseille centre-back Nayef Aguerd is among the 26 players selected for Morocco’s two matches against Niger, on 13 and 17 November, reports Footballclubdemarseille. He is thus back in the national team, having been injured for six months and missed a World Cup.
Before this return, Aguerd had produced a standout performance at Leverkusen in OM’s 1-0 win in the Europa League. He was given a rating of 7.5/10 by the outlet Footballclubdemarseille, a press appraisal and not an official assessment.
A deep squad around Aguerd
Around Aguerd, Mohamed Ouahbi has named a well-stocked squad for the double header. Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui, Yassine Bounou and Brahim Díaz are on the list, as is Youssef En-Nesyri, who makes his return, according to Footballclubdemarseille.
Morocco come into these fixtures top of Group A with 6 points, after two 2-0 wins, against Gabon and then Lesotho. The matches will be played in Casablanca, at the Stade Mohammed V, on Friday 13 November at 9pm (French time), and then in Rabat, at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah, on Tuesday 17 November at 9pm.
Genesio, witness to a long torment
The OM coach knows his defender well: he had already managed him at Rennes and now believes he is getting back to his best level, reports Footmercato. He also told Maxifoot about the player’s difficult journey:
“You always come back to individual cases. Nayef was injured for six months. With, on top of that, an unusual injury, he didn’t really know when he would be able to come back. When you have a serious injury but you know you’ll be back in six months, you have a target. He was in limbo for a while and that’s very difficult to cope with mentally. He missed a World Cup, after all, which is no small thing in a player’s career.”
Genesio also mentions a move to and back from Real Sociedad in that journey.
On the pitch, ahead of Lens – OM
At Leverkusen, Aguerd blocked a Tapsoba header with his arm in the 37th minute, without a penalty being awarded, and blocked an effort from Quansah before half-time, details Footballclubdemarseille. He has played 13 matches in all competitions this season with OM, according to Maxifoot.
Footmercato flags a point of caution over his physical management, to be watched ahead of OM’s trip to Lens.