Morocco national team manager Vahid Halilhodzic announced his 24-player list for Africa Cup of Nations qualifying on Thursday ahead of matches against Mauritania and Burundi. The Bosnian took on a defiant posture when addressing the availability of European-based players, mentioning that he has not allowed it to impact his selections and that if any players are restricted from joining the Atlas Lions Halilhodzic is ready to fight. Halilhodzic labeled the decision to allow clubs to keep players from joining up with their national teams “sporting discrimination” towards African footballers.
In addition there are a couple of players called up who have elected to represent Morocco for the first time, including left-back Adam Masina. Halilhodzic praised the 27-year-old former Italian youth international for pledging his allegiance to Morocco, saying he and Moroccan footballing authorities have been working on getting Masina to play for his country of birth for several months.
