The exclusion of Younès Belhanda from the Morocco squad that took part in the 2022 World Cup remains a wound that has not healed. The former Atlas Lions midfielder has revealed his lingering resentment of former Morocco coach Walid Regragui over the decision that denied him a part in the national team's historic achievement in Qatar.
Capped 59 times by Morocco and now at Qatar's Al-Sailiya, Belhanda admitted he still harbours anger and bitterness towards Regragui after being left out of the World Cup squad. That side reached the semi-finals, becoming the first African and Arab team to do so.
Speaking on "Rio Ferdinand Presents", as reported today, Friday, by the Spanish newspaper "Marca", the 36-year-old said: "Even today, I still hold a grudge against Walid Regragui. I did not understand it."
The former Montpellier player added: "He did not even call me, nothing at all! It was very painful, and I have not got over it even now."
A surprise exclusion with no explanation
Hope of a recall had returned once Regragui took charge as successor to Vahid Halilhodzic, Belhanda explained. The two were close, having worked together previously, and they stayed in constant contact.
"I had spent two years without being called up to the Morocco national team, and my relationship with Walid Regragui was very close," he said. "He was my assistant coach, and we talked a lot. Then he called me to call me up to the team right before the World Cup, and gave me hope."
He continued: "It did not destroy me, but it certainly affected me."
What hurt most was not the exclusion itself, Belhanda revealed, but the silence that followed. He got no explanation from the coach, despite trying to reach him after the final squad was named.
"On the day the squad was announced, I called him, but he did not answer," he said. "I just wanted an explanation. Be a man and tell me: 'Younès, I make my decisions.' I was no longer 15 years old, I was 32. I would have understood it, and accepting it would have been easier."
He added: "But there was not even a single call, nothing! It was very painful, and I have not got over it even now."
Anger that went as far as distancing himself from Morocco's achievement
The disappointment ran so deep that Belhanda detached himself from his country's historic run in Qatar. He stopped caring about the Atlas Lions altogether.
"I did not care, and I did not even watch the matches," he said.
He also recalled the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal, explaining that the way he followed the match laid bare just how much his relationship with the national team had changed.
He added bitterly: "I watched the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal, but I did not follow it the way I follow Morocco national team matches. You can see how far this anger reached."