Hakim Ziyech left out of Morocco squad for Africa Cup of Nations

Hakim Ziyech

Chelsea striker will miss the Africa Cup of Nations after being left out of Morocco’s Vahid Halilhodzic’s squad.

Ziyech has not represented his country since June and has found himself on the wrong side of Halilhodzic since he was accused of pretending to be injured to avoid playing in a friendly match.

The coach said Ziyech had refused to prepare for the friendly against Ghana in June, with the Chelsea man arguing that he could be injured, even though Moroccan medical staff had previously suspended Ziyech.

He finally got into the game and started another friendly with Burkina Faso a few days later, but has never been seen in the colors of his country since then, Hailhodzic accusing Ziyech of not being 100% committed to Morocco.

Ziyech has since missed ten games for his country, and that number will increase after being left out of the AFCON team.

Obviously, things do not look good for Ziyech’s international future, but for Chelsea, being left out is a blessing.

Chelsea have been short of attacking numbers in recent weeks, with Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, and Kai Havertz all battling a combination of injuries and Covid-19, with manager Thomas Tuchel having to establish some of his attacking line-ups to manage the quality of his players.

With Ziyech out of the Afcon, he will be available for the whole of January, the month in which Chelsea are subject to at least six games in 23 days.

The Blues will be without goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who is sure to be part of the Senegal squad, but Kepa Arrizabalaga proved Wednesday’s victory over Brentford that he is ready to step in.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *