Since his fallout with the national team head coach Vahid Halilhodzic, Hakim Ziyech hasn’t received any international call-ups and that trend is seemingly set to continue into the future with Ziyech unlikely to be called up for next year’s AFCON tournament, scheduled to be held in Cameroon from 9th January to 6th February.
According to Moroccan outlet Al Ahdath Al Maghribia on Thursday November 25, Halilhodzic decided not to call up Ziyech, with his belief that the Chelsea player will not be able to withstand the high heat and humidity that characterize the climate in Cameroon during this period of the year. Halilhodzic also feels that Ziyech’s physical condition is not up to the requisite standard.
Those claims sound preposterous no matter how many times you read them, so of course Ziyech’s omission has nothing to do with those aforementioned reasons, and everything to do with the differences between the player and the manager.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) will try to act as a peacemaker, and try to persuade Halilhodzic to reconsider his stance.
