In January 2003, Younes El Aynaoui raced for five hours before losing to Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. In January 2026, his son Neil El Aynaoui is just as tireless on the lawn of the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium. Size difference: he has not yet experienced defeat with Morocco. As since the start of the 2025 African Cup of Nations, the 24-year-old midfielder was essential to the qualification gained against Nigeria (0-0, 4-2 on the tabs).
Always involved in keeping and recovering the ball, he also set an example by converting the first shot on goal of the session on Wednesday. “Yassine (Bounou) has already shown at the World Cup that he is difficult to beat in the exercise. We knew that if we went for penalties, we had a big weapon,” explained El Aynaoui in the mixed zone.
A good argument to explain his relaxation, despite the expectations of an entire people. “You saw the atmosphere,” he started. It’s crazy, I’m brand new to this selection. When we play in this stadium, we feel like we are one, two, three more. They push us, it’s exceptional. »
Indeed, El Aynaoui is “brand new”: he only discovered the selection last September after procrastinating for a long time. At the risk of fraying Walid Regragui’s patience. “The story with Neil is that it was two years since he was supposed to come and then he was no longer supposed to come,” recalled the coach at a press conference. With my ego, I was on the verge of saying: that’s it, it’s over. I thank God for calming me and my temper from… not to say a bad word, for not closing the door, for taking a step back, for having talked with him again to convince him to join us. »
“We hope that he too has a son”
The AS Roma midfielder could have already been on the trip during the Ivorian CAN, two years ago. He could also have represented France – his mother is Lorraine – but he opted for the country of his father, Younès, former 14th in the ATP world. “The match he had, the debauchery he had even though he played almost every minute… Like father, like son, I want to say. I remember a match of his father at the US Open against Roddick, continued Regragui. I think he has the same mindset. We hope, Inch’Allah, that he too has a son who gives to Morocco, with the same DNA. »
The Atlas Lions played their six matches in Rabat, the city of Neil El Aynaoui’s grandparents, where he spent his summers until he was 14. The former Lensois didn’t miss a beat, not a minute. At the time of his appearance in front of the media, he had not yet contacted his relatives. “There is not much network in the locker room, I will quickly call them on the bus,” he smiled.
If his adventure with Morocco began with the painful memory of the earthquake in September 2023 during a selection with the Olympic team, the native of Nancy was inspired by his team’s journey at the World Cup in Qatar. This Andrés Iniesta fan particularly appreciated the performances of Sofyan Amrabat and Azzedine Ounahi.
Four years later, he started the Moroccan CAN with them in the midfield. At the stage of the last four, he is the only survivor of the trio. “He’s a fantastic player in his state of mind, he came with humility into the group. He quickly settled in, whether in 8 or in defensive midfielder, Regragui described. Tactically, Neil is very intelligent. He’s not going to stop there. He kind of fell out of the blue for us and as he is still young, he has at least another eight, ten years left in the national team. »
Keep reading
