Deportivo Alaves striker Munir El Haddadi has revealed he would like to play for Morocco at the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia despite being a full-fledged Spain international.
The 22-year-old was born in Madrid to a Moroccan father and a Spanish mother giving him dual citizenship. And the Barcelona loanee made his competitive bow for La Furia Roja in their 5-1 thrashing of Macedonia on September 8, 2014, during the qualifiers for Euro 2016.
However, he has not made another senior appearance for the former world champions ever since and has disclosed his desire to feature for Herve Renard’s side at next summer’s World Cup.
"I would like to play for Morocco [at the World Cup]," Munir told EFE .
"It's a difficult group and it's a coincidence that they've been drawn with Spain!"
However, erstwhile Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque who handed Munir his first and only cap admitted he felt ‘guilty’ with the decision to hand him a call-up and has urged the world governing body to allow the 22-year-old represent Morocco in Russia 2018.
"We did what we had to do with Munir," Del Bosque told Marca.
"But I think we have to be flexible in life and for 15 minutes they should let him play.
"I feel guilty we called him [Munir] up. He was in the sub-21 and one of our players got injured.
"I would like for him to go with Morocco."
According to Moroccan news outlet Assabah, Munir has lodged an appeal with Fifa and also made contact with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation [FRMF] urging them to support his quest to play for his fatherland.
Herve Renard’s side were drawn in Group B alongside Iran, Portugal, and Spain at next year’s showpiece in Russia.
And the Atlas Lions will kickstart their campaign at the global showpiece against Carlos Queiroz's charges on June 15, 2018.
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