Intense work awaits the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, in light of emerging talents in Europe, who are required in the current period to determine the team for which they will play: their country of residence and the Moroccan National Team.
Moroccan scouts will have a lot on their plate in the coming weeks, as they attempt to convince new players to wear the Atlas Lions colors. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation is waiting for scouts to attract new players to the ranks of national teams.
Here are the most promising young talents who could represent the future of the National Team:
**Eliesse Ben Seghir**
After a promising debut in Ligue 1 for the young Moroccan, barely 17 years old. Coming from the Monaco Principality’s Academy, Eliesse Ben Seghir became, with his double against Auxerre, the second youngest player to score a double for Monaco in Ligue 1, after Thierry Henry against Lens in 1995.
The young prospect comes from the illustrious Monaco Academy, a state-of-the-art football academy that pumps world class talent to the ligue 1 and internationally, Ludovic Giuly, Emmanuel Petit, Kylian Mbappe, Thierry Henry to name a few are products that Ben Seghir will look to match in success.
Of Moroccan origin, the young Monaco prodigy can therefore choose to play for the Atlas Lions in the future, even if he has already worn the colors of France at U17 and U18 level. This is, moreover, the case of several binational players who ultimately opted for their origins.
**Ilyes Housni**
The new offensive gem of Paris Saint Germain joined the Pre-Training Center of the club in 2017 from Paris FC. After two seasons with the under-17s, Ilyes Housni joined Zoumana Camara’s U19s at the start of the season.
It is undoubtedly one of the great revelations of PSG this season. Since the start of the current sporting season, he has scored eight goals and provided two assists in the UEFA Youth League. He is one of the great architects of PSG’s qualification in the round of 16 of the European competition.
Training regularly with the elite group for a few weeks, Ilyes Housni was called up for the first time in Ligue 1, on December 28, for the reception of Racing Club de Strasbourg.
Moroccan sports newspaper “Almountakahb” reports Abdel Latif Housni, the father of the player, said: “Ilyes received his training In Paris Saint-Germain since he was 12 years old, and he is now comfortable with the Parisian team after he signed a professional contract. I wish him a successful career and that he can shine in the coming period, and I am happy for him.”
After this first club signing, the young Parisian will also have to make a choice for his international career. In addition to the France team, Ilyes Housni could also wear the jersey of the Atlas Lions of Morocco.
Regarding the Royal Moroccan Football Federation’s contact with him in order to represent Morocco, he added: “There was interest in the past in my son. In the current period, we are waiting for a call from the Federation, although my son wears the French national team shirt, he loves Morocco and it will be an honor for him to wear the national team shirt.”
**Chadi Riad**
19-year-old Central Defender Chadi Riad is the latest Moroccan gem from La Masia, FC Barcelona’s training center. Born in Spain, Riad represents Morocco internationally, notably with the Cubs U20. It was at 16 that he arrived from Mallorca, quickly establishing himself in the different categories of young squads.
Mallorca had then decided to release him in 2019 and Barça hastened to sign him in U17. Loaned to Sabadell, he joined the professional team and notably played in Segunda División A, even becoming the youngest player in the club’s history. He’s improving in heading and positioning, returning to Barca full of confidence.
Central Defense is known to be a position requiring high coordination and experience, while Riad surely promises all the physicality required, Moroccan Head Coach Walid Regragui will look to try the young talent to invigorate his defense options and create a trusty bond with the likes of Nayef Aguerd and Romain Saiss in the center in front of Yassine Bounou, a key to his managerial plans for the Atlas Lions.
**Bilal El-Khannous**
At only 18, the attacking midfielder is already like a fish in Genk waters.
May 21, 2022, last game of the season. At the twilight of a season to forget, the Genkois met Mechelen in the European Play-offs, a mini-championship where they failed to raise their level of play.
In a gloomy match (0-0), Bernd Storck decides to bring up the young Bilal El Khannous for the last quarter of an hour. It is then the first minutes of the young attacking midfielder with KRC Genk’s first team, who has already left a mark in the Youth League, and was part of the team which crushed Chelsea 5-1.
While he has only been selected 3 times before, El Khannous joins the first team this season. And the least that can be said is that he is on track to stay in KRC Genk Head Coach Wouter Vrancken’s plans.
The young international featured against Croatia in the third-place play-offs of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, where he showcased a level on par with great players like Inter Milan’s Marcelo Brozovic, Luka Modric.
An exciting prospect for Head Coach Walid Regragui who believes in the player’s potential by giving him the chance to shine in the world’s biggest stage.
**Ismael Saibari**
The PSV Eindhoven winger was in the sights of the national team of the Netherlands to compete for the previous World Cup, which was played in Qatar. The player’s proposal to wear the colors of the country is supported by his coach, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
An untimely Injury in October saw him sidelined for the rest of 2022. Injured in the hamstrings in the Eredivisie, Ismael Saibari has already recovered and resumed training with PSV Eindhoven.
Ismael Saibari will soon have to decide on the national team he will represent. With both Netherlands and Morocco looking to register the young talent in their ranks.
Ismael Saibari is making a comeback on the playing field. The Moroccan international is no longer suffering from his hamstring injury, the 21-year-old started training with the Dutch club a few days ago. The Moroccan winger still has less than a week ahead of him to find his legs before the resumption of the championship scheduled for January 6, 2023.
This return of Ismael Saibari to the PSV Eindhoven group comes at the right time, since he could replace Cody Gakpo, who signed for Liverpool this winter. It would also be a good opportunity for the Moroccan who is just waiting for this to shine. This season, the prospect Atlas Cub have scored just one goal in 13 games with Eindhoven in all competitions.
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