Morocco’s coach Eric Gerets announced on Monday his 23-man squad for Burkina Faso’s clash in the 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifier, set to be played on Wednesday 29 February in Marrakesh.

Morocco’s Under-23 forward Abdel Aziz Barrada and his teammate midfielder Zakaria Labyad were included in the list for the first time.

Barrada, who helped Morocco to reach the Olympics Games, produced a string of strong performances with his Spanish side Getafe.  

Moghreb Fes defender Samir Zekrouma also got his first call up to the Atlas Lions, while Monaco’s midfielder Nabil Dirar was recalled to the team after his exclusion from the squad, selected for the last African Cup of Nations.

Under-fire strikers Marouane Chamakh and Mbarak Boussoufa kept their places in Morocco’s squad despite criticism after their frustrated performance during the last African Cup of Nations.

Morocco was eliminated from the first round of the African Cup of Nations after ending third on their group with three points from three matches.

Squad  

Goalkeepers:
Nadir Lemyaghri (Wydad Casablanca), Mohamed Amsif (Augsburg), Issam Badda (Fath Union Sports)

Defenders:
Michel Basser Chrétien (Bursaspor), Jamal Alioui (Al Kharytiyath), Mehdi Benatia (Udinese),  Abdelfettah Boukhriss (Fath Union Sport), Abdelhamid El-Kaoutari (Montpellier), Mustapha Lemrani (Moghreb Fès), Badr El-Kaddouri (Dynamo Kiev), Samir Zekroumi (Moghreb Fès)

Midfielders:
Issam El-Adoua (Guimares), Zakaria Labyad (PSV), Adil Hermach (Al Hilal), Karim El-Ahmadi (Feyenoord), Nabil Dirar (AS Monaco), Mehdi Carcela (Anzhi), Younes Belhanda (Montpellier), Nordine Amrabat (Kayserispor), Abdelaziz Barrada (Getafe)

Strikers:
Youssef El-Arabi (Al-Hilal), Mbark Boussoufa (Anzhi), Marouane Chamakh (Arsenal)

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