Football: Diaz Swaps Spanish Jersey for the Moroccan One

Brahim Diaz has been selected for the Moroccan national team, putting an end to speculations about his future with the Spanish national team. Diaz, who currently plays as a winger for Real Madrid, has been called up for two friendly matches at the end of the month.

Spanish newspaper Marca and other local media had already reported this news earlier in the week. It was mentioned that the lack of interest from the Spanish national team played a role in Diaz’s decision, as Morocco actively pursued his recruitment.

Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente responded to these reports by stating that he would respect Diaz’s decision. He also emphasized that only those who genuinely want to play for Spain would be welcomed into his team.

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Diaz has previously represented Spain in youth selections, some of which were coached by De la Fuente. He has only been called up once for the senior national team, scoring a goal in a 4-0 friendly victory against Lithuania in June 2021. The U-21 team was called up for that match as the senior players were in isolation due to COVID-19.

The FIFA, the governing body of world football, processes any request from a member federation for a player to change their national team eligibility. In Diaz’s case, it is a routine matter as he has never played a competitive senior match for Spain.

Considering his performances with Madrid this season, the 24-year-old Diaz was expected to be part of De la Fuente’s team for the upcoming friendly matches against Colombia and Brazil, with the squad announcement scheduled for Friday. However, he will now join Morocco for their matches against Angola and Mauritania.

Diaz began his senior career at Manchester City before joining Madrid in 2019. He also had a loan spell at AC Milan from 2020 to 2023. Morocco notably defeated Spain on penalties in the Round of 16 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.