Morocco's national team coach insists he won't be 'begging Hakim Ziyech to come back' despite their quarter-final exit at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Vahid Halilhodzic dumped the Chelsea winger from the Morocco set-up back in September after claiming Ziyech didn't want to train and wrongly claimed to be injured.
The 28-year-old was subsequently left out of Morocco's squad for the AFCON in Cameroon, a decision which came under scrutiny when Egypt beat them 2-1 on Sunday.
But Halilhodzic was unrepentant at leaving out a player who has 17 goals in 40 appearances for his national side.
'After the [AFCON] tournament three years ago, he was the most criticised,' Halilhodzic said.
'He was booed, you mustn't forget that. I don't select a player who can unbalance the group, not even if his name is Lionel Messi.
'Ziyech's behaviour does not fit the selection. He doesn't want to train, doesn't want to play. He doesn't take it seriously. I'm not going to beg him to come back.'
The coach also said: 'The players I selected are the best in the country. It was not the quality of the players, but the lack of opportunities.'
There certainly seems no immediate way back to international football for Ziyech yet Halilhodzic also lamented the lack of a 'killer' in his team to convert their chances after they lost after extra time in Yaounde.
Sofiane Boufal had handed them a seventh-minute lead from the penalty spot but Liverpool's Mohamed Salah equalised and Trezeguet scored Egypt's winner in extra time to set up a semi-final against Cameroon on Thursday night.
Morocco might have re-taken the lead in normal time and gone on to win but Egypt keeper Mohamed Abou Gabal made a flying save to tip Romain Saiss' header onto the crossbar.
Ziyech has continued to play for Chelsea while the tournament has been ongoing and scored in his club's 1-1 draw with Brighton and 2-0 win over Tottenham.
Back in September, Bosnian coach Halilhodzic said of Ziyech: 'He hasn't been disciplined in the last two sessions and has refrained from training.
'He didn't look like a player from a national team fighting to qualify for the World Cup.
'For the first time in my coaching career, I saw a national team player who doesn't want to train and claims to be injured, although tests have shown he can play. I won't tolerate it.'
Morocco will play DR Congo in a two-legged qualification play-off to reach Qatar 2022 at the end of March but Ziyech's hopes of playing in the World Cup remain distant.