Why Hakim Ziyech is missing the 2026 World Cup for Morocco

Several major names are missing the 2026 World Cup, and Morocco is one of the teams affected, with Hakim Ziyech among the players who shined for the national team in the past.

The reason Ziyech was not called up is the lack of form he has shown in recent years. While the talented winger has been productive for Wydad AC, the coach did not consider that enough to include him in the squad.

A surprising change came when then-coach Walid Regragui stepped down in March. That led to the hiring of Mohamed Ouahbi, who opted for a much younger team to refresh the attack, leaving the 33-year-old Ziyech out of the list.

Ziyech’s club career

It has been a steady decline for the experienced player in recent years, which may seem unexpected given how good his peak years were. Ziyech began with Heerenveen and Twente before making a major move within the country.

His best performances clearly came at Ajax, where he was part of a team that came close to making history, especially in 2019 when they beat teams like Real Madrid and Juventus on their way to the Champions League semifinal.

In 2020, he moved to a more competitive league such as the Premier League, with Chelsea investing 40 million euros in him. However, his spell there was not his best, as he scored 14 goals in 107 matches. He then had two uneven years with Galatasaray, spent a few months with Qatari club Al-Duhail, and eventually joined his current club last year.

Ziyech’s career with Morocco

While Ziyech represented another country, the Netherlands, in the youth categories in the past, he chose Morocco at senior level. The left-footed winger scored 25 goals in 64 matches for the national team, but he has not played for them since 2024. His biggest moment came when Morocco reached the semifinal in Qatar before falling to France.