Twenty-one minutes. That is all Achraf Hakimi played for Morocco during this international break. Suspended against Gabon (2-0) on 25 September, the PSG full-back came on late against Lesotho (0-2) after Noussair Mazraoui went off injured. Then nothing: a full game on the bench against Mali in Sunday’s friendly (1-1). For a captain with 103 caps, that raises eyebrows.
Except it was all planned. Speaking at his press conference, Mohamed Ouahbi stood by his decision: « What I take away above all is that Achraf did not play much so as not to take too many risks either. » In other words, the Morocco coach refused to play with fire. Hakimi had been called up despite a thigh problem, having already been described by PSG as suffering a minor right-thigh injury after the 1-0 win over Brest in September.
Paris can breathe
The message inevitably suits Luis Enrique, who gets back a virtually fresh full-back before the restart. On the Atlas Lions’ side, Ouahbi has already hinted that young players had « shown nice things » in his absence. Enough to create a little competition, even for the boss.