Guinea’s World Cup qualifier with Morocco has been postponed, after an attempted military coup in the West African country.
Morocco stars had arrived in Guinea ahead of their Qatar 2022 qualifier originally scheduled for today.
But amid heavy gunfire in the Guinean capital of Conakry, where the match was supposed to take place, the match was postponed.
Morocco players faced a nervous wait at their hotel, ahead of being escorted to the airport in order to leave the country.
Soldiers had appeared on state TV, claiming that they had dissolved the country’s government and shut the borders.
Guinea’s defence ministry, however, has since said that the attempted takeover has been stopped.
As Morocco’s stars endured their nervous wait to leave the hotel, boss Vahid Halilhodzic told L’Equipe: “We’re at the hotel, gunshots can be heard nearby all day.
“We’re waiting for permission to leave for the airport but we’re stranded for now.
“A plane is waiting for us, but we are not allowed to leave. And to get to the airport, it takes between 45 minutes to an hour. When you hear gunshots outside, safety is not 100 per cent guaranteed.”
Upon the team’s return to Morocco, PSG star Achraf Hakimi thanked fans for their well wishes and assured everyone that the team had made it safe and sound.
He wrote: “Thank you all for the messages and the support, it has been a very intense day but thank God we are safe and sound in Morocco. Good night.”
While there was no Hakim Ziyech in the squad, England-based stars Romain Saiss, Adam Masina, Imran Louza and Ilias Chair were all with the team – as well as former Spurs midfielder Adel Taarabt.
