Morocco coach Badou Zaki stepped down, the Moroccan Royal Federation of Football announced on Wednesday.

The famous goalkeeper, who was in charge of Morocco for 20 months, left the Atlas Lions by mutual consent.

Although Morocco qualified for the group phase of the Russia World Cup qualifiers and are joint top of their group in the Nations Cup qualifiers under his guidance, the 56-year-old was criticised for the team's stuttering displays.

Local Media criticised Zaki for "failing to build a stable team", as he tried 70 players over the 20 months.

He was also blamed for apparent lack of communication with assistants Said Chiba and Mustapha Haji, with the latter accusing him of making all major decisions on his own without consulting his assistants.

French coach Herve Renard, Nations Cup's double winner with Zambia and Ivory Coast in 2012 and 2015 respectively, was strongly tipped by the media to replace Zaki.  

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