The next Dutchman chooses Morocco and gets a starting debut from Regragui
Wednesday, October 18, 2023 at 8:43 AM
Oussama El Azzouzi made his official international debut with Morocco on Tuesday evening. The 22-year-old midfielder from Veenendaal was given the opportunity by national coach Walid Regragui to start against Liberia (3-0 win). El Azzouzi, who plays for Bologna in Serie A, had an excellent debut, as his statistics show.
El Azzouzi, who won the Under-23 African Cup with the U23 team last summer, managed to qualify on Tuesday with the main squad of Morocco as group winner for the final tournament that starts in January. To achieve this, the Lions of the Atlas had to accelerate less than usual.
In a group with South Africa, Liberia and Zimbabwe, the latter country was suspended by FIFA, leaving Morocco with only one country to participate in the African Cup. Regragui’s team eventually collected nine points in four matches, eight more than Liberia and two more than South Africa. The latter will also participate in the final tournament in Ivory Coast.
Against Liberia, El Azzouzi found his name in a starting eleven that included Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain), Nayef Aguerd (West Ham United) and Azzedine Ounahi (Olympique Marseille). PSV player Ismael Saibari and former Kitchen Champion Division trendsetter Tarik Tissoudali played as substitutes for seventeen minutes.
Morocco eventually won easily against Liberia thanks to goals from Amine Harit (Olympique Marseille), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiakos) and Amine Adli (Bayer Leverkusen). During the group stage of the Africa Cup, Morocco will compete against DR Congo, Tanzania and Zambia.
After his debut, El Azzouzi seems to be able to immediately prepare for his first final tournament with Morocco, as he left an excellent impression. 93 percent of the passes he made against Liberia were successful, creating 2 chances. In addition, El Azzouzi won no fewer than seven matches.
A starting place during the Africa Cup seems to be difficult for the Veenendaler, as he has to compete with Huizenaar Sofyan Amrabat (Manchester United) at Morocco. His choice for the Lions of the Atlas seems to have been finalized after his basic debut.
2023-10-18 09:28:00
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