Renard favours Boutaib over Azarou

by Staff Reporter

Tuesday Mar 12, 2019. 12:00

Morocco head coach Herve Renard has named his squad for this month's fixtures against Malawi and Argentina respectively.

The Atlas Lions face Malawi in Blantyre in the final round of 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on the 22nd of March before returning to Morocco for an international friendly showdown against Argentina four days later.

Morocco have already booked their place at this year's AFCON showpiece and a draw in Malawi will be enough to confirm the North African's as Group B winners.

Renard's squad includes former Juventus defender Mehdi Benatia and in-form Ajax Amsterdam midfielder Hakim Ziyech among others.

The former Ivory Coast and Zambian mentor has also included Zamalek's Khalid Boutaib, while Al Ahly's Walid Azarou is a notable exclusion, having only recently returned from injury.

Moroccan Squad:

Goalkeepers: Mounir El Kajoui (Malaga), Yassine Bounou (Girona), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (WAC)

Defenders: Mehdi Benatia (Al Duhail), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahçe), Noussair Mazraoui (Ajax), Marouane Da Costa (Al Ittihad), Romain Saiss (Wolverhampton), Hamza Mendyl (Schalke 04), Achraf Hakimi (Borussia Dortmund), Yunis Abdelhamid (Reims)

Midfielders: Karim El Ahmadi (Al Ittihad), Youssef Aït Bennasser (Saint Etienne), Mbark Boussoufa (Al Shabab), Younès Belhanda (Galatasaray) Fayçal Fajr (Caen), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax)

Attackers: Oussama Idrissi (AZ Alkmaar), Nordin Amrabat (Al Nassr), Abderazak Hamed Allah (Al Nassr), Khalid Boutaïb (Zamalek), Youssef En-Nesyri (Leganes), Hafidi Abdellah (Raja Casablanca), Hadraf Zakaria (Raja Casablanca), Badr Banoun(Raja Casablanca), Ismael Haddad (WAC), Abdelkarim Baadi (HUSA), Chafik Fouad (Dijon), Oualid El Hajjam (Amiens), Tuhami Anuar (Valladolid), Mehdi Bourabia (Sassuolo), Sofyan Amrabat (Club Brugges).