National voter Walid Regragui, coach of the first Moroccan national football team, said that he contacted Hakim Ziyech, considering that there are no problems between them.
The “Lions” captain stressed, during the press conference before the next two confrontations against the Gabon and Lesotho national teams, within the framework of the fifth and sixth rounds of the African Cup of Nations qualifiers scheduled in Morocco during the period from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026, that Ziyech’s exclusion came as a technical decision.
Regragui added: “Ziyech is not ready now, and when the list was drawn up he had only played 20 minutes after returning from injury.”
The coach of the first Moroccan national football team continued: “Ziyech must regain his full fitness in order to return to the ranks of the Moroccan national team.”
He continued: “I told Ziyech that he has to work to regain his level, and the national team’s door is open for him, and I do not have any personal problem with him.”
He added: “The team has changed from the previous stages. Competition has become great among players, and readiness governs players’ choices.”
It is worth noting that Reda Belhiane, the Italian Hellas Verona player, was summoned today by Walid Regragui to replace the injured player Amir Richardson, the Italian midfielder for Fiorentina.
Today, during the press conference, national voter Walid Regragui also spoke about the reluctance of some dual nationality players to choose a team to represent in the future.
Raban “Black” said: “Whoever wants to play with another team should walk, it’s my job.
He added: “We must give value to ourselves. Whoever wants to represent Morocco will, of course, love representing this shirt and is welcome, and whoever works on (shontag) has no place among us.”
He added: “Morocco does not stop at a player or a coach, and the evidence for that is that we reached the World Cup semi-finals with players who had a great desire and loved their country very much.”
Regarding the African Cup for Local Players hosted by Tanzania, Regragui explained: “Tarek Sektioui preferred to play with local players; Because it is very difficult to summon professional players in foreign leagues during a difficult period.”
Regarding the summoning of Reda Belhiane, the Italian player for Hellas Verona, the commander of the Lions battalion said: “The summoning of Reda came after Amir Richardson felt pain in his leg.”
Regarding the Lions’ defence, the Moroccan national team coach confirmed: “Adam Masina called him up to be a midfielder as he plays in Italy, and Hakimi and Mazraoui are not replaceable, and why will Saiss, Al-Yamiq or Shadi Riyad not return to the national team in the future before Alkan? The criterion of readiness is the most important.”
Regarding the goalkeepers, Regragui said: “We have the most prominent goalkeepers, namely Bono and Mohammadi. As for calling four guards, it is not new to the Moroccan national team. Currently, we have no problem in this center.”
