(Reuters) – Former France Under-21 international Sofiane Diop has accepted a first call-up by Morocco to begin their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign this month, coach Walid Regragui confirmed on Thursday.
Nice midfielder Diop, 23, was born in France but is also set for a move to Morocco, having reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar and having recently recruited fellow French teenager Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Amine Adli.
“He (Diop) is a player who could choose other countries. He deserves to be with us,” Regragui told the media.
Morocco is scheduled to host Eritrea next Thursday in its first qualifying match and despite reports that the latter may withdraw from the semi-final, Regragui said they have not received confirmation from FIFA.
The Atlas Lions will travel to Tanzania on November 21 for their second game. They also have Niger, Congo and Zambia in their place, with only the top group booking a place in the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Morocco team:
Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou, Munir El Kajoui, El Mehdi Benabid
Defenders: Ghanem Saiss, Nayef Aguerd, Abdelkabir Abqar, Yunis Abdelhamid, Achraf Hakimi, Ayoub El Amloud, Noussair Mazraoui, Yahya Attiat Allah
Midfielders: Sofyan Amrabat, Azzedine Ounahi, Yahya Jabrane, Ismael Saibari, Bilal El Khannouss, Amir Richardson
Forwards: Hakim Ziyech, Sofiane Diop, Amine Harit, Youssef En-Nesyri, Tarik Tissoudali, Ayoub El Kaabi, Amine Adli, Abdessamad Ezzalzouli.
