Morocco coach Herve Renard has named Ayoub El Kaabi, the star of the 2018 Africa Nations Championship (Chan) in the squad for the 2018 World Cup.
The Renaissance Berkane forward, scorer of nine goals at the Chan is one of the only three local based players in the Atlas Lions squad for the event in Russia.
Ittihad Tanger goalie Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti and Badr Benoun, the Raja Casablanca defender are the other two.
There is no place for Southampton record signing Sofiane Boufal who hasn’t played since late March following a misunderstanding with coach Mark Hughes.
Morocco are in Group B in Russia alongside Iran, Portugal and Spain.
Morocco squad:
Goalkeepers: Mounir El Kajoui (Numancia), Yassine Bounou (Girona), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (Ittihad Tanger)
Defenders: Mehdi Benatia (Juventus), Romain Saiss (Wolves), Manuel Da Costa (Basaksehir), Badr Benoun (Raja Casablanca), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid), Hamza Mendyl (LOSC)
Midfielders: M’barek Boussoufa (Al Jazira), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Caen), Sofyan Amrabat (Feyenoord), Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray), Faycal Fajr (Getafe), Amine Harit (Schalke 04)
Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Malatyaspor), Aziz Bouhaddouz (Saint Pauli), Ayoub El Kaabi (Renaissance Berkane), Nordin Amrabat (Leganes), Mehdi Carcela (Standard de Liege), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax).