• Amrabat has turned in a number of stunning performances at Qatar 2022

• FIFA+ looks back into his decision to choose to play for Morocco over the Netherlands

• He has attracted praise from many corners, including from President Macron of France

When the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ got underway, Sofyan Amrabat would not have been considered a “big name” in world football. In fact, he was arguably not even one of the biggest names in the Morocco squad.

Yet that has surely changed now, with fans in Morocco and around Planet Football certain to remember his stunning performances at this tournament – where he has become a mainstay of his country’s record run to the semi-finals.

Having previously demonstrated his midfield capabilities at a range of clubs across Europe, the all-action performer has integrated well into an Atlas Lions squad made up of a mix of players born in Morocco (such as Nayef Aguerd, Achraf Dari and Azzedine Ounahi) and overseas, like the France-born Sofiane Boufal and Romain Saiss, or Netherlands-born players such as Amrabat, Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazraoui.

Born in 1996, Amrabat started out at the De Zuidvogels Academy in his hometown of Huizen, before moving to the youth set-up at FC Utrecht. After breaking into the Utrecht first team, he subsequently earned moves to Feyenoord and Club Brugge, prior to making the leap to Hellas Verona in Italy’s Serie A.

By this point, Amrabat had already attracted the attention of officials at the Moroccan Football Association (FRMF), who were trying to persuade him to declare for the Atlas Lions at senior national-team level. He had previously represented the Netherlands’ U-15s, as well as Morocco’s U-17s, U-20s and U-23s, however he wanted to take the time to decide which country to represent on the full international stage.

With Amrabat having previously rejected an invitation from former Atlas Lions’ coach Herve Renard, Fouzi Lekjaa, the FRMF President, decided to intervene. Lekjaa spoke to Amrabat’s older brother, Nordin, in an effort to persuade Sofyan to represent Morocco and the midfield dynamo was invited to attend Morocco’s World Cup qualification match against Gabon in 2018.

At the same time, then Netherlands coach Dick Advocaat was attempting to convince Amrabat to pin his colours to the Oranje mast. However, after experiencing the atmosphere in the stands at the aforementioned qualifier, he informed Advocaat that he had decided to represent Morocco, thus following in his older brother’s footsteps.

“Morocco is my country. The Netherlands is my second home, the place I was born and where I have lived for most of my life but, like my parents and grandparents, I am a Moroccan. When I visit Morocco, it really feels like home. I can feel that in the Netherlands too, but Morocco is special,” said Amrabat, on his big decision.

Amrabat has continued to demonstrate his skills on the pitch since moving to Fiorentina in 2020 and competing at Qatar 2022 with Morocco has provided him the perfect opportunity to underline his ability on the global stage, which he has done with aplomb.

A strong tackler, Amrabat is also able to read the game well and make incisive passes. He has also had a lot of success covering ground in the centre of the park, alongside the likes of Azzedine Ounahi and Selim Amallah, forming part of an at times impenetrable midfield.

What is more, he showed his steely character when he went above and beyond to play in his country’s last-16 match against Spain, having required injections to manage pain in his lower back. “I was up until 3am receiving physiotherapy, and I had an injection before the match,” he said. “I couldn’t let my team-mates or my country down.”

His performances at the World Cup are underscored by his statistics: he has made 143 successful passes with an 87 per cent success rate, 33 recoveries and six interceptions.

At the tournament, he has gone toe-to-toe with the elite midfields of sides like Belgium and Croatia, working hard to quickly break up play and apply pressure on the opposition. The Atlas Lions’ midfield performed fantastically under his leadership when they came up against Spain, one of the most dominant teams around when in possession, and again when they defeated a Portugal side loaded with stars like Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva at Al Thumama Stadium.

And to cap this off, Amrabat’s performances have attracted praise from all corners, including the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and President Emmanuel Macron of France. Indeed, Macron spoke to him after Morocco’s semi-final loss versus Les Bleus and dubbed him the best midfielder at the tournament. Can Amrabat add to this heady praise with a World Cup third-place medal on Saturday?

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