Injuries force Ezzalzouli & Aguerd out of World Cup

Abde Ezzalzouli signed for Real Betis from Barcelona [Getty Images] Morocco have been forced to make two late changes to their World Cup squad after injuries ruled out forward Abde Ezzalzouli and defender Nayef Aguerd. Angers attacker Amine Sbai, 23, and 34-year-old Marwane Saadane, who plays for Al-Fateh in Saudi Arabia, have been brought in to replace the pair. Real Betis' Ezzalzouli, 24, is set to miss four to six weeks with a knee injury suffered in a collision with team-mate Chadi Riad in Sunday's 1-1 warm-up draw with Norway. Former West Ham centre-back Aguerd, 30, has struggled with a groin problem and last played for his current club Marseille on 4 March. Morocco open their Group C campaign against Brazil on Saturday, 13 June, before they face Steve Clarke's Scotland on 19 June in Boston, and Haiti in Atlanta on 24 June. Captain Achraf Hakimi played 65 minutes against Norway after initial doubts about his fitness to play in the tournament. The Paris St-Germain full-back, 27, suffered a thigh injury in his side's Champions League semi-final first-leg win over Bayern on 28 April , but returned to play the whole of the final victory over Arsenal . Morocco's squad also features Crystal Palace's Riad and fellow defenders Noussair Mazraoui of Manchester United and Issa Diop of Fulham, Sunderland winger Chemsdine Talbi and Real Madrid attacker Brahim Diaz. Midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, previously of Manchester United, and ex-Leicester midfielder Bilal El Khannouss are also included, but former Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech misses out. Morocco are currently seventh in the Fifa rankings and reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, losing to France . They were controversially declared winners of last year's Africa Cup of Nations after Senegal had their victory overturned for their walk-off during the final. Morocco squad in full: Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal), Munir Mohamedi (RS Berkane), Ahmed Tagnaouti (Royal Armed Forces) Defenders: Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United), Anass Salah-Eddine (PSV Eindhoven), Youssef Belammari (Al Ahly), Chadi Riad (Crystal Palace), Issa Diop (West Ham United), Redouane Halhal (KV Mechelen), Achraf Hakimi (Paris St-Germain), Zakaria El Ouahdi (Genk), Marwane Saadane (Al-Fateh) Midfielders: Samir El Mourabet (Strasbourg), Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille), Neil El Aynaoui (Roma), Sofyan Amrabat (Real Betis), Azzedine Ounahi (Girona), Bilal El Khannouss (Stuttgart), Ismael Saibari (PSV Eindhoven) Forwards: Chemsdine Talbi (Sunderland), Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos), Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid), Yassine Gessime (Strasbourg), Ayoub Amaimouni-Echghouyabe (Eintracht Frankfurt), Amine Sbai (Angers) Withdrawals: Nayef Aguerd (Marseille), Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Real Betis) World Cup fixtures and group standings How to watch the World Cup on the BBC Everything you need to know about the World Cup