Head coach Ahmed El Kantari has named a 21-man squad for the U17 World Cup in Qatar, including PSG goalkeeper Adam Mouak and several young players based in Europe.
The U17 World Cup in Qatar is approaching, and Morocco now knows who will be going. Ahmed El Kantari, head coach of the Lion Cubs, has named a 21-man squad for the finals of the competition, Alquds.com reports.
The list mixes players from the Moroccan league with youngsters who have gone to try their luck in Europe. Goalkeeper Adam Mouak, at Paris Saint-Germain, and defender Mohamed Habib Zenbi, at Atlético Madrid, are among the most prominent names, according to Alquds.com. The head coach, however, described his selection as “painful”, so plentiful were the talents of the 2009 generation for only 21 places.
Three goalkeepers, six forwards
The breakdown announced by Al Jazeera includes three goalkeepers, seven defenders, five midfielders and six forwards. Besides Mouak, goalkeeper Rayan El Yaakoubi, of Gent, has been retained, as has defender Adam Bouahdadi, from the Mohammed VI academy.
Midfielder Ilyan Hadidi, of Feyenoord, and his counterpart Omran Talei, of Ajax Amsterdam, are also part of the group. Ziad Baha, of Olympique de Marseille, and Ibrahim Rabah, of Chelsea, complete the contingent of players based in Europe, according to Al Jazeera.
The Moroccan league is also represented: Renaissance de Berkane have two players among the 21, Bilal Affas and Mohamed Amine Oubakrim, Al Jazeera notes. The Mohammed VI academy supplies several members of the squad, including Bouahdadi.
El Kantari’s “painful” choice
The head coach acknowledges the difficulty of his decision. According to Alquds.com, he called the selection “painful” because of the abundance of talent in this 2009 generation and the limit of 21 players. Speaking to Al Jazeera, he said: “استبعاد بعض اللاعبين كان مؤلماً، لكنه جزء من القرارات التي يفرضها العمل الفني”. In French: “Leaving some players out was painful, but it is part of the decisions that technical work imposes.”
The head coach is building on the work done with this generation by his predecessor, former head coach Nabil Baha, Al Jazeera indicates.
A bridge to the senior team
The stated ambition goes beyond the Qatar tournament alone. According to Alquds.com, El Kantari aims to compete with the best nations in the tournament, but also to prepare these players for the senior national team.
The exact dates of the U17 World Cup in Qatar have not yet been confirmed by the sources consulted.