FC Utrecht left-back Souffian El Karouani is tied for second in assists among Eredivisie players with 10, but was left out of the Morocco squad for the Africa Cup of Nations. El Karouani's most recent Morocco outing came in October 2025, when the Atlas Lions beat the Congo 1-0 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Al-Ittihad and former Fenerbahçe striker Youssef En-Nesyri was omitted from the squad after failing to score in his first seven games for the Saudi giants.
The defender's call-up follows the departure of manager Walid Regragui, who left the RMFF on March 5th after struggling with exhaustion. Former Morocco U20 manager Mohamed Ouahbi took over a day later, just three months before the start of the FIFA World Cup.
Morocco face Ecuador in the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on March 27th and Paraguay in the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens, France, on March 31st in the final two friendlies before the FIFA World Cup window in June.
On Tuesday, Morocco was retrospectively awarded the AFCON title after the CAF ruled that Senegal had lost by forfeit.
"The Appeals Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has decided, in accordance with Article 84 of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Regulations, to declare the Senegal national team as forfeiting the final of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 ('the Match'), with the result officially recorded as 3-0 in favor of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF)," the CAF's statement reads.