Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic says he hasn’t changed his opinion of Chelsea midfielder Hakim Ziyech.
Halilhodzic dumped the Chelsea winger from the Morocco set-up back in September after claiming Ziyech didn’t want to train and wrongly claimed to be injured.
The 28-year-old was subsequently left out of Morocco’s squad for the AFCON in Cameroon, a decision which came under scrutiny when Egypt beat them 2-1 in Sunday’s quarterfinal.
But Halilhodzic was unrepentant at leaving out a player who has 17 goals in 40 appearances for his national side.
“After the [AFCON] tournament three years ago, he was the most criticised,” Halilhodzic said.
“He was booed, you mustn’t forget that. I don’t select a player who can unbalance the group, not even if his name is Lionel Messi.
“Ziyech’s behaviour does not fit the selection. He doesn’t want to train, doesn’t want to play. He doesn’t take it seriously. I’m not going to beg him to come back.”
The coach also said: ‘The players I selected are the best in the country. It was not the quality of the players, but the lack of opportunities.’
