Wahbi clarifies the confusion surrounding Bentaleb and reveals the reason for not facing Argentina.

Wahbi noted that Belhanda's career has seen gradual development, moving from a lower level to Eintracht Frankfurt in January, indicating that the coaching staff continued to monitor his situation despite his limited appearances.

He said: “He had an important profile, and we have been watching him for 36 months. He played for six months; however, he didn't play much, yet we were still keeping an eye on him,” emphasizing that his improved performance this season made him deserving of consideration for the Moroccan national team.

The coach of the “Atlas Lions” clarified that communication with the player was direct, stating: “I spoke with him over the phone about Morocco's project without making any promises, and then he made his choice.”

Wahbi stressed: “I don't think we needed to do more than that. The Moroccan national team is not negotiable; it should be a choice,” considering that the matter of Belhanda is now closed for the national staff, and work will continue to find options to strengthen the team.

In this context, the national coach said: “This matter is over, and we will continue to work. We are ranked sixth among the world's teams and aim to be better than that.”

On another note, the captain of the “Lion's Battalion” discussed the choice of Ghana for the upcoming friendly match, explaining that the decision came due to complications related to the match schedule and international travel.

Wahbi pointed out that facing Argentina was initially on the table, and there was interest and requests from both sides before the situation changed, adding: “We were going to play against Argentina, and there was a request from both parties. In the end, they wanted to play in Argentina.”

He added that the Moroccan national team's commitment to travel to South Africa to face Lesotho made scheduling the match more complicated, along with the busy calendar of European teams, saying: “Since we will be traveling to South Africa, it was complicated. European teams have a busy schedule. Therefore, we chose Ghana as an African option.”

Wahbi confirmed that the choice of Ghana was not random, given the value of the Ghanaian team and its international experience, stating: “Ghana is a team that has played in the World Cup, has an experienced coach, and is an opponent that suits us.”

The Moroccan national team coach also addressed the follow-up of players from the under-20 national team who won the latest World Cup edition in Chile, emphasizing that there is a specific policy to benefit from all prominent names, while working with the same philosophy between the first team and the under-23 team.

Regarding the absence of players from the “Botola Pro” league from the first team list, except for Munir El Kajoui and Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti in goalkeeping, Wahbi said: “We do not have a specific policy to give more opportunities to professionals; our policy is readiness above all, and when the Moroccan league starts, we will monitor the names that deserve it as we did previously.”

On Thursday, Mohamed Wahbi announced a list of 29 players for the matches against Gabon and Lesotho. The Moroccan national team will host Gabon on Friday, September 25, at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, before facing Lesotho the following Tuesday in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The matches are part of the first and second rounds of the African qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. Meanwhile, they will face Ghana in a friendly on October 4 in Morocco.