Malaga forward En Nesyri makes Morocco’s World Cup squad
RABAT, Morocco (AP) Morocco included Spain-based forward Youssef En Nesyri in its World Cup squad at the expense of defender Badr Banoun.
Banoun was Morocco's captain for the African Nations Championship - a tournament for home-based players only - at the start of the year but lost his place in the final 23-man squad for Russia to accommodate an extra attacker.
En Nesyri is a 21-year-old striker who plays for Malaga and joins a list of seven forwards named by coach Herve Renard.
Renard's squad also includes Juventus defender Mehdi Benatia, midfielders Mbark Boussoufa and Younes Belhanda, and Ajax forward Hakim Ziyech.
Morocco is in a tough group at the World Cup. It starts in Group B against Iran before facing Portugal and then Spain.
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Goalkeepers: Mounir Mohamedi (Numancia), Yassine Bounou (Girona), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (Ittihad Tanger)
Defenders: Mehdi Benatia (Juventus), Romain Saiss (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Manuel Da Costa (Basaksehir), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid), Hamza Mendyl (Lille)
Midfielders: Mbark Boussoufa (Al Jazira), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Caen), Sofyan Amrabat (Feyenoord), Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray), Faycal Fajr (Getafe), Amine Harit (Schalke)
Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Malatyaspor), Aziz Bouhaddouz (St. Pauli), Ayoub El Kaabi (Renaissance Berkane), Nordin Amrabat (Leganes), Mehdi Carcela (Standard Liege), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax), Youssef En Nesyri (Malaga)
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