Walid Regragui, the coach of Morocco, has picked the majority of the team that played in the World Cup semifinal last year and defeated Brazil for a match against South Africa on June 17 at Soccer City.
He must also select five new players from a 28-man team for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier and a friendly exhibition match against the Cape Verde Islands.
Both Morocco and South Africa have already qualified for the Cup of Nations finals the following year, but Morocco still has the majority of its World Cup stars in the squad, including Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech, flying full-back Achraf Hakimi, midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, and striker Youssef En-Nesyri, who on Wednesday helped his Spanish club Sevilla win the Europa League.
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On June 12, Morocco will play a friendly game against Cape Verde in Rabat to get ready for their journey to South Africa.
They played two friendlies in March, their first games following their World Cup triumphs. In Tangier, they defeated Brazil 1-0, and in Madrid, they drew 0-0 with Peru.
The encounter against Bafana Bafana will mark Morocco's first competitive game since the World Cup in Qatar, where they made history by becoming the first nation from Africa to go to the semifinals in December.
Youssef El Motie of Wydad Casablanca has been given a first call-up by Regragui in recognition of his outstanding performance in the African Champions League. Defender Ismael Kandouss, who is based in Belgium, has also been promoted from the under-23 team and will this weekend try to help Union Saint Gilloise win the league.
Adam Masina, a left-back, and Tarik Tissoudali, a striker, who were both forced to withdraw from the World Cup due to injuries, are back in the team, along with Oussama Idrissi, a winger whose most recent appearance came in 2019. Last month, he contributed to Feyenoord's victory in the Dutch championship.
Youssef Maleh, a midfielder for Lecce who is uncapped and has only received one call-up in the past two years, has also been summoned back.
SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla, Spain), Munir El Kajoui (Al Wehda, Saudi Arabia), Youssef El Motie (Wydad Casablanca)
Defenders: Abdel Abqar (Deportivo Alaves, Spain), El Mehdi Benabid (Royal Armed Forces), Nayef Aguerd (West Ham United, England), Achraf Dari (Stade Brest, France), Jawad El Yamiq (Real Valladolid, Spain), Achraf Hakimi (Paris St Germain, France), Ismael Kandouss (Union Saint Gilloise, Belgium), Adam Masina (Udinese, Italy), Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich, Germany), Fahd Moufi (Portimonense, Portugal), Romain Saiss (Besiktas, Turkey)
Midfielders: Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina, Italy), Ilias Chair (Queens Park Rangers, England), Oussama Idrissi (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Imran Louza (Watford, England), Youssef Maleh (Lecce, Italy), Abdelhamid Sabiri (Sampdoria, Italy), Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea, England)
Forwards: Zakaria Aboukhlal (Toulouse, France), Soufiane Boufal (Al Rayyan, Qatar), Walid Cheddira (Bari, Italy), Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla, Spain), Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al Ittihad), Tarik Tissadouli (KAA Gent, Belgium), Anas Zaroury (Burnley, England).
