Eight graduates of the Mohammed VI Football Academy were among the players named by Mohamed Ouahbi on Thursday as the Morocco coach announced his squad for the upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Nayef Aguerd, Azzedine Ounahi, Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti, Alaa Bellaarouch, Oussama Targhalline, Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal, Tawfik Bentayeb and Yassir Zabiri all passed through the academy before taking different routes into the senior national setup.
The list puts some of the academy’s best-known graduates alongside players from a younger crop now beginning to get their chance with the Atlas Lions.
Aguerd has been part of Morocco’s defense for several years, while Ounahi is another established international and has started the season strongly since joining Panathinaikos.
Targhalline made his mark with the Olympic side that won bronze at Paris 2024 before moving into the senior setup, while Bellaarouch has also come through the national youth teams and the Olympic side.
Ouahbi will also be reunited with Ait Boudlal, whom he previously coached with Morocco’s U20s. The center-back is now among the younger players being brought into the senior squad.
Zabiri comes into the picture after Morocco’s U20 World Cup triumph in Chile. The Racing Santander forward has scored six goals since the start of the season, including one against Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Bentayeb, who moved from the Botola to European football, is the other academy graduate selected in attack, while Tagnaouti provides the experience in goal after being part of Morocco’s squads at three World Cups.
The eight selections leave the Mohammed VI Academy represented in every department of Ouahbi’s squad, with two goalkeepers, two defenders, two midfielders and two forwards called up for the qualifiers.
