Morocco coach Walid Regragui caught many by surprise with his low-key approach when he named his squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. After the announcement appeared on social media, confirming that the injured Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi would captain the 28-man group, Regragui offered little more than a brief and reluctant five-minute interview.
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The Moroccan football federation headquarters in Rabat. There was no grand speech or emotional tribute to his star right back, only a dry, Rugby World Cup 2027 businesslike tone delivered to a lone reporter. I just wanted to publish the squad list and return my focus to what really matters, which is preparing for the tournament, said the 50-year-old former Morocco international.
His side was just ten days away from their opening match against Comoros at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. The players will arrive over the next few days, and once the competition begins, there will be plenty of opportunities to speak with the media. Regragui made it clear he had little interest in discussing selection decisions. Talking about the list doesn’t really interest me.
He said. It’s already public. These are the choices made by my coaching staff. The message was unmistakable: the focus was on results, not headlines. A week later, however, the tone changed dramatically. On the eve of Morocco’s opening match, Regragui stood before the same reporters he had previously brushed aside and spoke with genuine emotion about his captain.
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Rugby World Cup: Regragui Hails Hakimi’s Sacrifice Ahead of AFCON
Rugby World Cup, Achraf has made sacrifices over the past four or five weeks that nobody else could have made, he said. He has set an example for the players and the staff. Hakimi’s rise to becoming the face of Morocco’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign has been decades in the making. Born in Spain to Moroccan parents, he grew up in the Madrid suburb of Getafe.
He joined the Real Madrid academy as a teenager and made his debut for the club’s reserve side in 2016. A year later, first-team coach Zinedine Zidane promoted him, before encouraging him to seek regular football elsewhere. A loan move to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga followed, where Hakimi’s pace and attacking instincts flourished.
He later joined Inter Milan and played a key role in Antonio Conte’s side that won the 2020–21 Serie A title, Inter’s first league triumph since the treble-winning season under José Mourinho. By the age of 23, Hakimi was already regarded as one of the best right-backs in world football. Paris Saint-Germain signed him in 2021 for €68 million, although his arrival was largely overshadowed by.
The simultaneous signing of Lionel Messi, who joined Neymar and Kylian Mbappé in a star-studded attack. Four years on, that glamorous trio has come to symbolise an unsustainable PSG era defined by excess spending and unmet expectations. Under coach Luis Enrique, appointed in 2023, Rugby World Cup, the club shifted its philosophy away from individual egos and towards collective responsibility.
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Rugby World Cup Final: Hakimi Thrives Under Enrique at PSG
Hakimi, known for his relentless work rate, has thrived in the new system. He’s helped me evolve as a player, Hakimi told Canal+ during a summer interview. Before, I didn’t really come inside the pitch. He’s taught me to play in different positions and be more versatile. He gives me freedom, but also responsibility. I have to combine with teammates, find space, and stay strong.
Hakimi’s powerful runs and consistency helped PSG secure a domestic treble in Enrique’s first season, winning the French Super Rugby World Cup Final, Ligue 1, and the Coupe de France. They repeated that success the following year, and in the 2025 Champions League final against Inter Milan, Hakimi opened the scoring in a stunning 5–0 victory over his former club.
I’m happy to have a player like him, Enrique said before a Ligue 1 trip to Brest in October. He’s one of the best right-backs in the world. We don’t have a replacement because anyone with his quality would cost a fortune and barely play, since he’s rarely injured. Fate, however, intervened. On 4 November, Hakimi’s 27th birthday.
Bayern Munich forward Luis Díaz delivered the challenge that would test both player and captain. Hakimi calmed his award as the Connotation of African Football’s top African player last month tiring a surgical boot on his foot.
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