Morocco star dreams of returning to the Atlas Lions after painful exclusion
Espanyol star Omar El Hilali has made clear he wants back into the Morocco squad for the upcoming international break.
El Hilali told Mundo Deportivo newspaper: "If you deliver the required level with your club, you will always have a chance to join the national team, and when you don't, your chances drop to a minimum."
"When the time comes, it will happen," he continued. "If I am called up, I will be very happy, and if it doesn't happen, I will keep working so that at some point I can return to the ranks of the Moroccan national team."
Missing out on the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup still stings. "Did I feel sad about being left out of the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup? It makes you sad, because you had a chance to go with your country's national team, and in the end you didn't go. And whether you want to or not, you start thinking about what I could have done in order to be able to go?"
He noted: "I became just another one of their supporters. In football there are always second and third chances, and besides, I am still young. I hope one day I can play in the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup, and that comes as a result of what you deliver with your club. I am 100% focused."
The AFCON final between Morocco and Senegal drew a firm verdict. "In any football match, the moment one of the competitors leaves the pitch, the win must be awarded to the other team," he explained.
He stressed: "If I don't like what the referee says and I decide to leave the pitch, it makes no sense. It's about the rules of football, and the referee is there for a reason. You may like his decision or not, but you have to carry on and abide by it."
On Brahim Diaz's penalty, he added: "It's true that they often say it is like a lottery, but there were also many influential factors such as tension and the pitch. Next time we must win, and I am sure no one will remember what happened."
His Espanyol future came up too. "I have a contract until 2027, and after that there is an optional year linked to achieving a set of objectives, and if these objectives are not met, there are other economic matters and so on," El Hilali commented.
