2025 AFCON Qualifiers (Matchdays 5,6): Zakaria Aboukhlal Replaces Ilias Akhomach

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) officially unveiled on Monday the shortlist of five finalists nominees in each of the men’s categories at CAF Awards 2024, including Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi, shortlisted for African Player of the Year.

In addition to Moroccan and French club Paris Saint-Germain’s right-back, other contenders for the prestigious African Player of the Year award include Ivorian Simon Adingra (Brighton and Hove Albion), Serhou Guirassy (Guinea/Borussia Dortmund), Ademola Lookman (Nigeria/Atalanta) and Ronwen Williams (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns).

In the “Young Player of the Year” category, Moroccan international Eliesse Ben Seghir, who plays for French club AS Monaco, is in the running alongside Karim Konaté (Côte d’Ivoire/Salzburg), Oumar Diakité (Côte d’Ivoire/Reims), Yankuba Minteh (Gambia/Brighton and Hove Albion) and Lamine Camara (Senegal/AS Monaco).

As for the Club of the Year category, the list of five finalists includes Berkane Renaissance alongside South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, Egypt’s Al Ahly and Zamalek as well as Espérance Sportive de Tunis.

The prestigious CAF Awards 2024 ceremony will take place in Marrakech on December 16.

The Moroccan national football team dominated their Gabonese counterparts by 5 goals to 1 on Friday at the Franceville stadium, for the fifth Group B fixture of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN-2025) qualifiers.

Gabon’s striker, Dénis Bouanga, fired first in the 5th minute before the Atlas Lions retaliated with a downpour of goals scored by Jamal Harkass (17′), Brahim Diaz (21′, 23′), Youssef En-Nesyri (81′) and Ismael Saibari (90′).

In the same group, Lesotho beat the Central African Republic on Thursday (1-0).

Following today’s fixtures, Morocco consolidated their position at the top of Group B with 15 points from five wins, ahead of Gabon, who qualified for the CAN (7 points). Lesotho are third with 4 points, while the Central African Republic are dead last with 3 points.

Morocco’s national soccer team thrashed Lesotho 7-0 (5-0 in 1st half-time ) on Monday evening at the Stade d’Honneur in Oujda, as part of the 6th and final matchday of Group B qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations (Morocco-2025).

The Atlas Lions won thanks to a hat-trick from Brahim Diaz (5′, 15′, 42′), two goals by Sofiane Rahimi (37′, 45’+2 penalty) as well as Youssef En-Nesyri (68′) and Ismael Saibari (70′).

With this win, the national team finishes top of its group with 18 points from 6 wins, ahead of Gabon (10 pts), who already qualified for the next AFCON and defeated this evening the Central African Republic (1-0).

The new jersey of the Moroccan national soccer team was unveiled at a grand ceremony on Monday at Rabat-Salé airport.

 The launch event, a major milestone in anticipation of the Africa Cup of Nations (Morocco-2025), highlights the close cooperation between equipment manufacturer PUMA, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), national airline Royal Air Maroc (RAM) and Planet Sport. It also underlines the collective commitment to supporting Moroccan soccer on the international stage.

The ceremony was attended by Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports Mohammed Saad Berrada, Minister of Transport and Logistics Abdessamad Kayouh, Lieutenant General Mohamed Haramou, Commander of the Royal Gendarmerie, President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) Fouzi Lekjaa, and several other personalities.

Speaking on the occasion, RAM Chairman and CEO Abdelhamid Addou called it a historic event for RAM as it highlights the national airline’s ongoing support for the Moroccan soccer team. 

“We are delighted with the organization of this event, which will enable us to support our men’s and women’s national teams,” he added.

The new national team jersey is designed in two colors, red for home matches and white for away ones. 

Embodying the essence of Moroccan art, the Home kit features patterns inspired by geometric designs and traditional Moroccan zellige tiles, branding the five-pointed star of the Moroccan flag in the center, a reflection of the Moroccan culture’s authenticity.

On the Away kit, embroidery and symbols inspired by Amazigh craftsmanship have been incorporated with patterns deeply reflecting Moroccan heritage. The vibrant red and green palette embody the national flag, and the inclusion of Tifinagh on the back of the jersey pays homage to Morocco’s deep and rich history and cultural diversity.

To promote the national team and Morocco as a tourist destination, several innovative actions, initiated in partnership with Planet Sport, led by Royal Air Maroc through having all cabin crew (flight attendants) wear the new jerseys for two days on board Royal Air Maroc aircraft, as a show of support for the national team and to promote soccer as a vector for the tourism influence of Morocco as a destination, a joint press release from the FRMF, RAM, Puma and Planet Sport read.

Morocco’s National coach Walid Regragui summoned French club Toulouse’s striker Zakaria Aboukhlal to replace injured Ilias Akhomach, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) announced on Tuesday.

Spanish club Villarreal confirmed on Sunday that their Moroccan striker, Ilias Akhomach, has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, sustained last Saturday during La Liga’s 13th matchday.

The Moroccan international, who left the pitch on a stretcher during his team’s 3-0 win over Alavés, “suffers from a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament and a sprain of the medial collateral ligament of his right knee”, the Spanish club said on social network X.

Zakaria Aboukhlal (24) has scored four goals in eleven games for Toulouse this season.

Walid Regragui has summoned 26 players for the Moroccan national team’s matches against Gabon in Franceville on November 15 and Lesotho at Oujda’s Stade d’Honneur on November 18.

These two matches are part of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 5th and 6th round of qualifiers (Group B), to be held in Morocco from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026.

Regragui will hold a press conference this Tuesday (6 p.m.) at the Mohammed VI soccer complex in Salé, followed by a training session open to the press for the first 15 minutes.

 Morocco’s football head coach, Walid Regragui said on Tuesday that competition for spots on the national soccer team is fierce.

“There is competition between all the available players, and the tougher the competition, the more choice I have as coach to have the best possible squad,” Regragui said during a press conference held at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Salé, ahead of the Moroccan national team’s fixtures against Gabon on November 15 in Franceville and Lesotho on November 18 at the Honor Stadium in Oujda, as part of the CAN 2025 qualifiers (Matchdays 5 and 6).

“The national team has grown with a great squad and we have become the soccer nation we wanted to be. We have been in the world’s Top 13 for 2 years now, and that’s a strong asset that attracts talented players,” added the national coach.

Speaking on the preparations for the CAN 2025, the head coach stressed that the national team still had a few matches left to fine-tune its work, noting that “the important thing for us is to be ready for the CAN, at home, because we have a duty to achieve results and show a good level.”

Regragui also spoke on Hakim Ziyech’s absence, stating that “Ziyech has not competed for two months. He should work with his team and once he reaches his level, he will join us.”

Commenting on Adam Masina’s call-up, the national head coach said that he wanted to see how the Torino player, who has switched positions to become a central defender, develops. “We are undergoing progress and we might see other profiles joining the national team,” he added.