Akkord and Zalzouli will miss the World Cup.

The absence of the duo Naif Akrd and Abdessamad Azilzouli from the Moroccan national team during the 2026 World Cup has been officially confirmed, after their names were removed from the official list approved by FIFA, and they were replaced by Marwan Saadan and Amin Al-Sabahi.

National coach Mohamed Wahbi finds himself facing new circumstances just days before the "Atlas Lions" play their first matches in the global tournament, especially since Akrd and Azilzouli were among the players expected to play important roles during the competition.

There were hopes regarding Akrd's potential participation in the World Cup, as he appeared in training over the past few days; however, the Moroccan defender was unable to fully recover from the injury he has been suffering from in the pubic bone, which has kept him off the field since March.

Akrd chose to undergo surgery immediately after the end of the season, before continuing his rehabilitation program in Morocco in hopes of regaining his fitness in time to participate in the World Cup, but his race against time was unsuccessful.

For his part, Azilzouli suffered a knee injury during the recent friendly match against Norway, an injury that initial assessments indicated would keep him off the field for only a few weeks, leaving the door open for the possibility of his participation in the later stages of the tournament.

The technical staff of the Moroccan national team has decided to utilize Al-Sabahi's services to replace Azilzouli, while Marwan Saadan has been chosen to replace Akrd in the final list of the "Atlas Lions."