Lionesses of the Atlas: Blahik summons 31 players to face Uzbekistan
French coach Eric Blahic calls up 31 players in his first list at the head of the Atlas lionesses, in anticipation of two friendly matches against Uzbekistan on October 9 and 12, succeeding Jorge Velda.
The French coach Eric Blahic, appointed by the Royal Moroccan Football League to succeed the Spaniard Jorge Velda at the head of the Moroccan women's team, called up a list of 31 players for the first preparatory gathering he leads with the "lionesses of the atlas", in anticipation of two friendly matches against Uzbekistan on Friday and Monday. This preparatory gathering will host the facilities of the Mohammed VI football complex, provided that a public training session will be held on Thursday evening at Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, the first minutes of which will open For fans and the press, Blahic reaches the Moroccan national team with direct European experience, having served as an assistant to coaches Corinne Diacker and then Hervé Ronard at the head of the French women's team, and in this capacity participated in the 2023 World Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympics, before the Royal Moroccan Football University entrusted him with the task of succeeding Velda. The program of the two friendly matches against Uzbekistan The lionesses of the Atlas play two consecutive friendly matches against the Uzbek national team, according to the following program: The program of the lionesses of the Atlas Uzbekistan Match Date Time Friendly Stadium First Friday, October 9, 2026 20:00 Moulay El Hassan Stadium, Rabat Second Friendly Stadium Monday, October 12, 2026 18:00 City Stadium The Royal Army topped the list, including eight female players from the Royal Army Club, most notably the captain of the team Ghazalan Al-Shabak, along with Nahila Benzina, the first veiled player to participate in the Women's World Cup. Blahik also summoned Moroccan female professionals abroad, including Ibtisam al-Jaridi, a player for the Saudi Crescent Club. And Jasmine Zouhair, attacking Spanish Real Madrid. The end of three years with Velda puts an end to the appointment of Blahic to the path of Jorge Velda, who has led the "lionesses of the Atlas" since October 2023, and his last stop was the exclusion from the semi-final was the women 2026 against Cameroon, the result after which Velda expressed his great influence, without the Royal Moroccan Football League officially announcing the reasons for moving to the new French coach. This gathering comes at a pivotal stage for the Moroccan women's team, which is actually qualified to The 2027 Women's World Cup finals and into the third round of the 2028 Olympics qualifiers, as the two friendly matches against Uzbekistan represent the first real test for Plahik before greater entitlements await the "lionesses of the atlas" next season.