Invited to RMC Sport, Morocco coach Walid Regragui explained the choice of Marseille’s Mattéo Guendouzi to play with the French team rather than Morocco.
Morocco coach Walid Regragui spoke on RMC Sport when Mattéo Guendouzi chose the France team rather than Morocco. The French international had come to the Mohamed VI Academy with the French U20s for a friendly match against the Moroccan U20s and it was there that Walid Regragui learned that the choice of the Marseille player had already been made.
“I had met the little Guendouzi during a match, I was stationed at the FUS in Rabat. He had come with the French U20s to the Mohammed VI complex to play against the Moroccan U20s. When I saw his name, I asked him if he was Moroccan. He told me he was of Moroccan origin. I said to him: ‘you don’t want to play for Morocco?’. He said to me: ‘no, me, it’s France’. And he stayed, kudos to him. I’m happy for him, he was right. At least he doesn’t play on ambiguity. Players who made their choice very early like Hakimi, Mazraoui, Zyiech… you have no worries. The Federation works very well, we have observers in each country who know all the players of Moroccan origin. We are in contact with them from an early age. We’re not here to steal products, we’re here to support them in their choice, we want people who are sure to wet the shirt for Morocco and sure of their choice, not by default. You come for Morocco because you chose Morocco but you will not blackmail because there is France, Belgium, Italy, saying “I hesitate”. From the moment there is any hesitation, it means that you are not cut out to come and play in Morocco. When you play in Malawi under 40 degrees after twelve hours of flight, if you do not have the heart for Morocco, you can let go in the last ten minutes. From the moment there is this blackmail, this ambiguity, the player will say to himself at some point: ‘what the hell am I doing here? I shouldn’t have come, I won’t come back”
?? Walid Regragui talks about dual nationality in After Foot:
?? “We want players who are sure they want to wet the shirt for Morocco. There will be no ambiguity. If you hesitate, it’s because you’re not cut out to play for Morocco. » pic.twitter.com/aR8mcSzxfT
— After Foot RMC (@AfterRMC) January 30, 2023