“A Moroccan talent” refuses to compare him to the star Achraf Hakimi

Promising Moroccan star Zakaria El-Wahidi, the right-back for Belgian football club Genk, has spoken of the praise he received from his compatriot Achraf Hakimi, the French player for Paris Saint-Germain.

Al-Wahidi said in statements to the media, after the match between Morocco and Gabon, won by the “Atlas Lions” 4-1 yesterday evening, Friday: “Achraf Hakimi is a great player to whom I cannot compare myself.”

He continued: “Hakimi is one of the best full-backs in the world and I am happy to learn from him within the Moroccan national team.”

Ashraf Hakimi said of Al-Wahidi at a press conference ahead of the final clash with Gabon: “Zakaria is a wonderful player. I lived with him at the Paris Olympics. He is a talented player.”

The Paris Saint-Germain star added: “He will have a great future in the Moroccan national team. He is a disciplined player on and off the pitch.”

Al-Wahidi, 22, played at the senior level with the Moroccan U-23 national team, at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, to gain the trust of Walid Regragui, the coach of the first Moroccan national team, who invited him to be present in the current Atlas Lions camp, in the same position as Hakimi.

Zakaria Al-Wahidi has great footballing assets, as he can be used as a right or left-back, a position in which he excelled at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.