Osame Sahraoui is the new recruit of the Morocco team. Recently, he turned his back on Norway and chose to defend the colors of the Moroccan flag. After having defended the colors of Norway in a single match, he refused a call-up from the coach of the Norwegian selection, Ståle Solbakken, who needed him to strengthen the national team for a match against Scotland during the League of Nations.
Walid Regragui, coach of the Morocco team, even summoned him Sahraoui, for the match against the Central African Republic, scheduled for October, counting for the qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations (CAN) Morocco 2025. Considered as Versatile, the 23-year-old can be positioned as a winger and attacking midfielder. He could be a valuable asset for the Moroccan team which wants to achieve good performances during the CAN 2025 qualifiers which will take place from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026 in Morocco and win the continental title at home.
Read: Achraf Hakimi’s advice to young binational players
Before Osame, several binational players chose Morocco as their sporting nationality to the detriment of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain. Among them are Couhaib Driouech, Dutch-Moroccan star of the Moroccan under-23 team, Adnan El Boujjoufi, who played for the Netherlands under-15, and 13-year-old Belgian-Moroccan prodigy Ilyes Bennane, and Real Madrid’s Spanish-Moroccan striker Brahim Diaz.
Currently, Morocco is trying to snatch Ayyoub Bouaddi, who became the youngest player to play professionally at 16 years 3 days, in France. Summoned by the French Football Federation to represent the Blues under-20 team, he is in the sights of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF). She seeks to influence his decision. Both countries are seduced by the performances of the rising star of LOSC Lille. “He showed all the potential, all the talent he has. We know what he is capable of. He’s a boy who has a very well shaped head. He has the talent to play at this level. You have to know how to confirm, but I don’t think there’s too much to worry about in that regard with him,” congratulated his coach Bruno Génésio at a press conference after the Lille match. Real Madrid.
Read: Why do binational footballers choose Morocco rather than Europe?
The exploits achieved by the Moroccan football team under the management of Walid Regragui, notably the historic journey of the Atlas Lions at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, explain the choice of binational players to join the Atlas Lions den. “What I liked was that he refused Norway to play with Morocco. Today, everyone wants to play for the national team, unlike the past period when we had to make efforts to convince binational players to make this choice,” declared the Franco-Moroccan technician who spoke on the change of the sporting nationality of Osame Sahraoui.
Other factors militate in favor of Morocco. In an interview with the RTBFBelgian-Moroccan Khalid Zinbi, a recruiter for Belgian youth teams, claimed that players of Moroccan origin are often looked down upon because they tend to be “smaller, thinner, more technical, they have a physical less imposing” that coaches do not favor when forming a team. This is why, “many players think that there is a “football xenophobia” for this type of training – so as soon as they have a way out, the possibility of representing another country, they make this choice “, he added.
