Morocco coach Herve Renard has named the 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia next month.
The list, published by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), is dominated by the players from European leagues and only three players are from the domestic league.
The spotlight is on Juventus defender Mehdi Benatia, Real Madrid defender Achraf Hakimi and Ajax midfielder Hakim Ziyech.
Sofiane Boufal’s omission is the key story from @Herve_Renard_HR‘s @FRMFOFFICIEL squad release.
Really talented 23 for Morocco, intrigued to see Carcela make the cut – one of several creative talents who have the quality to trouble Spain/Portugal.https://t.co/E4bY1Fn5tV pic.twitter.com/8WQk04PCGJ
— Ed Dove (@EddyDove) May 17, 2018
The FRMF also revealed the additional three-man stand-by list, namely Youssef En-Nesyri from La Liga side Malaga, Mazraoui Noussair from Ajax, and Oualid El Hajjam from Ligue 1 side Amiens.
Morocco, which has missed the World Cup finals for 20 years, will compete in Group B alongside Spain, Portugal and Iran in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Morocco will start their World Cup campaign with a clash against Iran in St Petersburg on June 15, before facing reigning European champions Portugal in Moscow on June 20 and 2010 World Cup winners Spain in Kaliningrad on June 25.
Morocco squad:
Goalkeepers: Mounir El Kajoui (Numancia), Yassine Bounou (Girona), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (Ittihad Tanger)
Defenders: Medhi Benatia (Juventus), Romain Saiss (Wolves), Manuel Da Costa (Basaksehir), Badr Benoun (Raja Casablanca), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid), Hamza Mendyl (LOSC)
Midfielders: Mbark Boussoufa (Al Jazira), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Caen), Sofyan Amrabat (Feyenoord), Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray), Faycal Fajr (Getafe), Amine Harit (Schalke 04)
Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Malatyaspor), Aziz Bouhaddouz (Saint Pauli), Ayoub El Kaabi (Renaissance Berkane), Nordin Amrabat (Leganes), Mehdi Carcela (Standard de Liege), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax).
With inputs from Xinhua