| Hakimi against Spain | Mangalam

Doha: It will be very interesting for Morocco’s Ashraf Hakimi to face Spain today.

Born in the Spanish capital of Madrid, Hakimi today has to play for the country where he was brought up. The pre-quarter between Spain and Morocco will be played at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan.

Wingback Ashraf Hakimi is one of the leading players in North Africa. The star is also the one who blocked the path of Belgium, the world number two team. He even played in the junior team of Spain. His father was a street vendor in Madrid. Mother is a housekeeper. He joined the Royal Madrid Academy at the age of seven.

He soon joined Real Madrid’s La Liga team. He then moved to German club Borussia Dortmund on a loan basis. He also played for Italian Serie A club Inter Milan. From there to French League One club Paris Saint-Germain. He is currently staying at PSG along with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

24-year-old Ashraf Hakimi said that although it is the country of his birth, Spain always feels unfamiliar. Hakimi is not playing against Spain for the first time.

He also played in the Morocco team that drew Spain 2-2 in the 2018 World Cup. Morocco entered the pre-quarters by defeating Belgium 2-0 in Group F. After defeating Canada, Croatia advanced with Asia.