Samir El Mourabet #15

Profile

Thriving in a very promising Strasbourg team, El Mourabet earned his first Morocco cap in March. The 20-year-old performed well as a defensive midfielder in friendlies against Ecuador and Paraguay but his young career hasn’t been without its challenges. Born in Strasbourg, El Mourabet had to put his career on hold in 2020 when the club let him go aged 13, deeming him overweight. He then joined Lyon’s futsal team, where he was clearly better than most. After turning down a professional contract to play football in Spain, El Mourabet went back to Strasbourg, where he played his way into the Under-19 team within six months. “My son is not the kind of boy who’s going to start crying and say that everything is ruined,” his father, Tijani, said later. After establishing himself in the first team under Liam Rosenior, El Mourabet was frequently called up by the Morocco Under-20 manager, Mohamed Ouahbi, now in charge of the senior side.

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