Morocco coach Walid Regragui has praised the attitude and performance of Hakim Ziyech after the African side's shock 2-0 win over Belgium.
Goals from Abdelhamid Sabiri and Zakaria Aboukhlal secured a famous victory for Morocco, only their third-ever win at a World Cup finals, and it's put them on course for a first knockout phase place since 1986.
Chelsea star Ziyech was one of Morocco's standout players and was singled out by Regragui after the game, where he complemented the attacker's displays as well as his attitude, despite the problems he's had with the national team set-up in the past.
The Morocco coach said: 'He's incredible. A lot of people talk about him as a difficult guy to manage but what I see is that, when you give him love and confidence, he will die for you. It is what I give him and he returns my confidence.'
Ziyech only returned to the Morocco fold in September after he retired from international football following a fallout with previous coach Vahid Halilhodzic.
Halilhodzic has previously accused the 29-year-old of feigning an injury after pulling out of a September 2021 squad and blasted Ziyech's 'poor attitude'. He was then subsequently left out of Morocco's squad for the African Cup of Nations squad in January.
The omission led to Ziyech's retirement from the international game and even rejected a plea from Halilhodzic to play in the team's World Cup qualifiers.
However, the Bosnian coach was sacked in August after a disagreement with the Moroccan FA and replaced by Regragui.
That appointment led to Ziyech rescinding his retirement and allowed him to return to the Morocco squad ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
His performances may have alerted clubs ahead of the January transfer window, with Ziyech struggling for game time under Chelsea boss Graham Potter.
He's been restricted to just nine appearances for the Blues this season and has only started one Premier League game in this current campaign.
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He's too good to play for the Blues