El Khannouss played in the youth series for the Belgian national team, but switched to Morocco last year. A choice of the heart, he said earlier.
“My grandparents are from Morocco and I want to make them proud, hence the decision,” he said.
The midfielder and debutant is the big surprise in the selection of national coach Walid Regragui. With Selim Amallah (Standard) a second player has been selected from the Belgian league.
For both players, the selection is somewhat surprising. Amallah has not played since the end of September due to a dispute with the Standard board. El Khannouss only made his debut with the Moroccan promises in September. The eighteen-year-old attacking midfielder is experiencing his big breakthrough this season at competition leader Racing Genk.
The Belgian-born Ilias Chair (QPR) is also there. The Mmaee brothers, both active at the Hungarian Ferencvaros, did not make the selection.
Regragui also had a spot available for Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea) and Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich). The two were out of the picture for a while due to a conflict with the previous national coach Vahid Halilhodzic, but returned to the Moroccan team after his resignation in August.
Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina, ex-Club Brugge) can also prepare for the trip to Qatar.
Morocco opens its World Cup in Group F against Croatia (November 23). The duel with the Red Devils follows on November 27. The ‘Lions of the Atlas’ will conclude their group stage against Canada on December 1.
