Former Moroccan national team player Noureddine Amrabat sharply criticized Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzic for his decisions and for excluding a number of stars from the team.
Amrabat, 34, has left the Moroccan national team due to the choices of coach Halilhodzic, who has been leading the "Atlas Lions" since 2019.
Amrabat, player of the Greek club AEK Athens, came out with new statements reported today by the French newspaper L'équipe, and criticized the Bosnian coach, saying that he had failed "to make the best use of the current group of players because of his stubbornness and arrogance."
"How can you choose only one player out of the 4 players present in the advanced stages of the Champions League? I have no idea what he is trying to do, but I think he is doing the exact opposite of what the fans expect."
The former Eindhoven player was referring to the marginalization of a number of the most prominent Moroccan players, including Chelsea player Hakim Ziyech and Ajax Amsterdam defender Nassir Mazraoui.
The two players rejected the recent invitation to return to the national team on the occasion of the decisive role in the African qualifiers for the World Cup Qatar 2022, to continue their absence in light of their strained relations with coach Halilhodzic.
"For the sake of a small dispute, do you not choose Mazraoui for two years? It is logical for the fans to chant the name of these players," Amrabat continued.
Amrabat continued his criticism and touched on the performance of the "Atlas Lions" in the first leg of the decisive round of African qualifiers against the Democratic Republic of Congo, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Regarding Khalilozic's tactical options, he said, "In the African Cup of Nations qualifiers, he was playing a 4-4-2 system, in the African Nations final he played 4-3-3 and now 5-3-2 after the team trained only twice on this system? The players did not get opportunity to build bonds under this new system."
The former player of the Moroccan national team concluded his speech by emphasizing his optimism to win the return match and qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, and said, "I think we will win next Tuesday, not thanks to Halilhodzic but thanks to the fans. In front of Halilhodzic after the match, either he puts his ego aside or leaves his position,” referring to the need to use the excluded players in the upcoming dates.
Amrabat has played 64 international matches with the Moroccan national team since 2011, scored 7 goals, and was among the participants in the World Cup that took place in Russia in 2018.