Walid Regragui: Morocco appoint former Wydad Casablanca boss as new national coach
- Published
France-born Walid Regragui won 45 caps for Morocco
World Cup-bound Morocco have appointed Walid Regragui as their new national team coach.
The 46-year-old former international, who played for Toulouse and Racing Santander, takes charge following the departure of Vahid Halilhodzic earlier this month.
The Bosnian had led the side to the quarter-finals of this year's Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and then secured World Cup qualification in March following a 5-2 aggregate win over DR Congo.
Regragui, meanwhile, won the African Champions League title with Wydad Casablanca in May and added the domestic league title.
The former FUS Rabat and Al Duhail coach then left Wydad at the end of July after just one season in charge.
Morocco will face 2018 runners-up Croatia, Belgium and Canada in Group F at the World Cup finals in Qatar.
The Atlas Lions will take on Chile and Paraguay in friendly matches in Spain next month as part of their preparations for the tournament.
Regragui's appointment means all five African sides at the World Cup will have home-grown head coaches.
Former internationals Rigobert Song, Otto Addo and Aliou Cisse are in charge of Cameroon, Ghana and Senegal respectively, while Jalel Kadri will be in the dugout for Tunisia.