Hakim Ziyech definitely does not want to play for the Moroccan national team anymore, the 28-year-old attacking midfielder from Chelsea has announced. Ziyech last played for his country on June 12, 2021 due to a conflict with national coach Vahid Halilhodzic. He also missed the Africa Cup that was recently held. “I will not return to the national team, that is my final decision,” Ziyech said.
“It is clear to me how things go there,” Ziyech continues. “I focus on what I’m doing and that’s my club now. Of course I’m sorry, who isn’t? But it’s his decision and I have to respect it. But when all the lying comes in, it’s clear to me. Like As I said, I will not return to the national team.” In total, Ziyech has made forty appearances in the Moroccan team, in which he scored fifteen times.
Ziyech will not return to Morocco. † pic.twitter.com/yCLKg4dq3N
— Anouar Amrani (@anouararamrani) February 8, 2022
Halilhodzic recently said he would not consider bringing Ziyech back. The national coach of Morocco sees the former Ajax player as a ‘troublemaker’. “Ziyech’s behavior does not fit with the selection. He doesn’t want to train, doesn’t want to play. He doesn’t take it seriously. I’m not going to beg him to come back. I will never beg anyone to join the team. If you disrupt the group, I won’t select you. Even if you are Messi. I can always forgive someone. Once, twice, but not three times.”
Ziyech made his debut for Morocco in 2015 in a friendly against Ivory Coast (0-1 loss). The attacking midfielder was active with the North African country at the 2018 World Cup, where he started all three group matches in the starting lineup. Morocco only got one point and was therefore immediately eliminated. A year later, Ziyech was active with Morocco in the Africa Cup of 2019. As a basic player, he won the three group matches with his country, but in the eighth final against Benin it went surprisingly wrong after penalties. After the tournament, Halilhodzic was appointed as the new national coach. Under him, Ziyech made nine more appearances, most recently on June 12, 2021 in a friendly against Burkina Faso (1-0 win).