Morocco boss Mohamed Ouahbi has plenty of options to cover the absence of Sofyan Amrabat, after the midfielder decided to boycott the Atlas Lions for as long as the current coach remains in charge of the technical staff.
Amrabat had already made his stance clear on his future with Morocco. In a lengthy message posted to his official Instagram account, he confirmed he will not wear the national team shirt while Ouahbi is manager.
Finding a suitable replacement now falls to Ouahbi, and midfield is one of the strongest areas in the Morocco line-up. He has a group of players capable of filling the role.
Moroccan website "Sport7" reported that Ouahbi has several options to cover Amrabat's absence, pointing to "3 young players he can rely upon to take Sofyan Amrabat's place".
Among the most prominent names put forward, the website explained, is Schalke's Sofiane El Fouzi, alongside Charleroi's Yassine El Khalifi and Strasbourg's Yassine Kessim.
"Sport7" believes these young players could hand Ouahbi fresh options in midfield, with the manager needing to find a combination capable of covering the role Amrabat used to perform for Morocco.
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The manager's options don't stop with the young trio. Imran Louza's name remains firmly in the frame for a return to the Morocco squad after a long spell away.
Bringing Louza back could be one of the solutions the technical staff turn to, given his previous experience with the national team and his ability to play in midfield. That hands Ouahbi another way to cover Amrabat's absence.
Nayef Aguerd and Ayoub Bouaddi, meanwhile, remain firmly established in the Moroccan midfield, given the strong levels they've been producing for both country and club.
According to "Sport7", the pair look undroppable in defensive midfield. That ties the competition for the remaining spots to the names Ouahbi picks to cover Amrabat's absence.
Ouahbi therefore has more than one way to deal with Amrabat's absence, from leaning on the young players, to a possible Louza recall, right through to keeping Aguerd and Bouaddi as two fundamental pillars in midfield.