Croatia and Morocco will face each other in the third-place matchof the 2022 World Cup at Khalifa International Stadium. Both teams failed in the semifinals against Argentina and France respectively, but they will play for redemption. However, Morocco will be without one of their best players in the tournament Azzedine Ounahi.
Ounahi has been one of the revelations of the tournament. The 22-year-old midfielder of Angers has attracted the most attention, and the club’s president has revealed that they have received offers from big clubs for the player.
According to Spanish newspapers, Ounahi’s pre-World Cup transfer value of 4 million euros ($4.25 million) will increase, and Barcelona is one of the clubs interested in him. However, the midfielder won’t be playing from the start against Croatia and many fans have wondered why.
Why will Azzedine Ounahi start on the bench against Croatia?
For this match, head coach Walid Regragui has opted for a line of three in the middle, with Bilal El Khannouss, Sofyan Amrabat and Abdelhamid Sabiri. So, Ounahi will be on the bench for the start of the match.
Despite Regragui’s decision for today’s match, Ounahi is already one of the breakouts from the tournament. The head coach referred to the hype that has come after Morocco’s run, and what could happen next to the midfielder.
“You have some players at small clubs – I don’t like using that term – so this is a good event to show their quality,” he said at a press conference, per Reuters. “Everybody’s focused for the World Cup. They want to make history, then afterwards their agents can do business.“