Talent calendar
©TM/IMAGO
The future of the Moroccan national team is bright. At the 2022 World Cup, Morocco became the first African country to reach the semi-finals, the U20s became world champions, and the U17s recently made it to the World Cup quarter-finals. Part of this promising future is Moncef Zekri from KV Mechelen, who at 17 is a regular in the Jupiler Pro League.
Zekri could also play for Belgium, after all, the left-back was born in the capital Brussels. However, he cleared up speculation early on in an interview. “No, in my opinion this decision has been made. I am happy that I can play for Morocco and I am proud to wear these colors. They have good players and just like the Moroccans, I also love football. The atmosphere they bring was also evident at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. With such an audience you are even hungrier to play,” Zekri explained in an interview with the Belgian magazine Nieuwsblad.
So far, Zekri has collected 20 caps for the Moroccan U17 team, with whom he took part in the World Cup in Qatar in November. There the team around the Mechelen professional made it to the quarter-finals, when they lost to Brazil. Zekri showed his best performance in the 3-2 win against Mali in the round of 16, when he contributed two assists to help them advance. “I want to go to the World Cup with Morocco this summer. That’s my big dream. I had already contacted the national coach about it. Playing for Belgium is not an option for me. They haven’t paid any attention to me,” Zekri emphasized his ambitions.
In order to make it into Walid Regragui’s team, Zekri will have to have good performances for Mechelen. He played in twelve league games this season – nine of which were in the starting line-up. Since being assigned to the U17 team, he has made two appearances as a joker. Under Frédéric Vanderbiest, who prefers a back three and lets Zekri play on the left wing, the talented left-footer made his debut in May 2025 at the age of 16 years, seven months and 20 days.
The special role of Zekri’s father – comparisons with Marcelo
Zekri was trained in the youth ranks by Oud-Heverlee Leuven and his path led to Mechelen via VV St. Truiden in July 2023. His father had given him particular help when he arrived in Mechelen. “I came from St. Truiden to the U18 and was still a very shy guy. My father talked to me a lot and often said that if I wanted to play at a high level, I just had to let everything happen. From then on I had more fun with football, and then it just went uphill,” explained Zekri. “After every match he says what I did good and bad. I appreciate that. Without him I wouldn’t be here yet. He helped me move forward step by step.”
Zekri’s strengths include, above all, his outstanding technique and his wit. He always uses his dribbling to solve situations under high pressure and carries the ball across the field, which allows him to conceal weaknesses in his physicality. He also needs to improve his tactical discipline and tackling skills. Due to his style of play, he is already being compared to Rayan Aït-Nouri and Marcelo at home.
Ajax was interested in why Zekri doesn’t want to move at the moment
With a market value of 4 million euros, Zekri is one of the most valuable defenders of the 2008 class. Shortly after his professional debut, Ajax Amsterdam sought the Moroccan’s services, but Tom Caluwé, Mechelen’s technical director, was able to convince him to stay. “I’m very happy with it. Of course it was hard to say no to a team like Ajax, but I felt like the coach believed in me. Tom gave me a lot of confidence and it’s better to play professional football in Mechelen than youth football at Ajax.”
Zekri’s contract in Mechelen runs until 2028, and he made a clear stance on staying beyond the winter. “Then I’ll just say no. I want to show myself here first. Only when that’s done will I look at my options, and only when the season is over,” answered the talent when asked about his future.
Every day from December 1st to 24th, Transfermarkt will present a talent from the 2008 or 2009 vintage from a different country. Sponsors, data scouts and users act as experts and report interesting facts about 24 young players in our talent calendar who you should keep a close eye on in the future. For example with the TM Watchlist.