Africa’s World Cup-bound teams confirmed final 26-man rosters this week, with head coaches forced into difficult calls as the tournament approaches, according to the confirmed squads.
Morocco drew attention by leaving Youssef En-Nesyri out of the squad, with head coach Mohamed Ouahbi instead selecting Soufiane Rahimi and Ayoub El Kaabi as the Atlas Lions’ only central striking options, according to the confirmed squads. Both Rahimi and El Kaabi are over 30, meaning suspension or injury would require Ismael Saibari or Brahim Díaz to be moved into attacking roles and could disrupt other areas of the team. En-Nesyri has scored eight goals for Al Ittihad since joining in February and netted decisive goals against Canada and Portugal during Morocco’s 2022 run to the semifinals.
Morocco’s centreback picture also carries caveats. On paper the pairing of Issa Diop and Nayef Aguerd looks strong, but Aguerd has not played since March 4 after sustaining a groin injury at Marseille and Ouahbi suggested a late decision on his status could be possible, according to the confirmed squads. Diop made his international debut in the March window while Aguerd was sidelined, meaning the duo will not have shared any minutes together before the World Cup begins.
Senegal named Kalidou Koulibaly despite the centreback not featuring for club side Al Hilal since April 8, and he was absent from Senegal’s 3-2 friendly loss to the United States on May 31, according to the confirmed squads. Koulibaly has one more friendly, against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, before Senegal’s Group I opener against France on June 16, and returned to training on Thursday ahead of the match.
Algeria faced a goalkeeping scare when first-choice Luca Zidane broke his jaw at the end of April, prompting coach Vladimir Petkovic to include five goalkeepers in a provisional squad and leave backups Melvin Mastil, Oussama Bent and Abdelatif Ramdane — who have three caps between them — as cover, according to the confirmed squads. Zidane returned to action for Algeria’s 1-0 friendly win over the Netherlands wearing a protective full-face mask, easing some concerns but leaving limited experienced options behind him.
