91 days to the World Cup: Morocco look to poach a rising star from Spain | OneFootball

The African national team inquired about the situation of the Merengue footballer in order to call him up.

With 91 days left until the start of the World Cup in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, after finalizing the arrival of Mohamed Ouahbi as their new coach, the Morocco National Team continues working on finalizing the roster with the 26 players called up.

Beyond having a confirmed core with renowned figures such as Yassine Bounou, Hakimi Achraf, or Brahim Díaz, in recent hours it has come to light that the African team is looking to snatch a Real Madrid prospect from the Spain National Team.

According to Spanish media, the Morocco National Team is seeking to convince Thiago Pitarch to naturalize and become eligible for Ouahbi ahead of the 2026 World Cup, since the 18-year-old midfielder, born in Spain, is the grandson of Moroccans.

Continuing with the information, the media also added that for now, both the 18-year-old footballer and his entourage wish to continue playing with the Spanish youth teams, hoping to get his chance with the squad led by Luis De La Fuente.

So much so that, in response to this interest from Morocco, La Roja decided to call him up for the March FIFA date with the U21 National Team, which will play a series of friendly matches in preparation for assembling the squad for the 2027 European Championship in that category.

Moreover, throughout his career, Pitarch already has experience with the Spain National Team, as in 2025 he was part of the U20 team that played in the World Cup in Chile. There, he played four matches, all as a starter, until they were eliminated by Colombia in the quarterfinals.

Thus, despite Morocco's intention to convince Pitarch and consider him for the 2026 World Cup, everything indicates that the Real Madrid midfielder will continue playing for Spain's youth teams and will wait for his debut with the senior team.

Thiago Pitarch's career numbers

Since his debut with the Merengue first team, the 18-year-old midfielder has played just five matches, in which he has neither scored goals nor provided assists. He also has not received any cards in the 228 minutes he has spent on the pitch.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.