He is the youngest player of the Moroccan national team at the World Cup in Qatar, but he is considered the most promising future for the Atlas Lions in the next continental and international competitions. This is Bilal El Khannouss, one of the soccer talents that coach Walid Regragui bet on in the classification match against Croatia at the World Cup, after staying on the bench in previous matches, he proved that he was up to the responsibility and the bet, after playing a beautiful pass from Sofiane Boufal that almost resulted in a goal, and showed calm and sobriety in the game.
Bilal’s age does not exceed 18 years (raised in 2004). He is originally from the northern suburbs of Brussels, but his origins are Moroccan par excellence. He loves soccer since his childhood, so he joined the former Belgian club “Royal Anderlecht”, before moving to the club “Genk”, which he joined in 2019, professionally, to occupy the center position. He also defended the Belgian national teams of under 15, 16 and 18 years.
Wouter Franken, his coach at Genk, said in a press release: “Bilal adds stability to the team, but I think he can be more decisive. You can only do that by playing games. What El Khannouss is trying to adhere to, the whole future is his.
Although the coach of the Belgian national team has attracted him in every way to play under his colors, he has played for all his age groups, but he preferred to keep the promise he had made to his grandfather, who had asked him to wear the Moroccan jersey if he had the opportunity, So he did not hesitate for a moment to answer the call of Walid Regragui, rejecting the offer of the Belgian national team, especially since his model is Hakim Ziyech, who in turn refused to play for the Dutch national team, preferring Morocco.
Bilal said in one of his statements, “Ziyech is a role model for me. I’ve been watching him since I was a kid and played for Ajax Amsterdam. And here I am today sitting next to him in the dressing room. It’s great”, before adding the promising player, whose market value is estimated at 5 million euros, according to specialized sites, “choosing Morocco is a final decision for me, and I am very proud to do it for my grandparents”.
Be the first to comment