Ebnoutalib Chooses Morocco, Frankfurt Transfer Sparks Senior Call-Up and Clouds Germany World Cup Option
Eintracht Frankfurt forward Younes Ebnoutalib has apparently decided to represent morocco and is set to be called into the senior national squad for the upcoming international friendlies, a German report says. The development comes as the 22-year-old returns to training after a knee injury following a high-profile move to the Bundesliga.
Morocco Call-Up Set For March Friendlies
A report in Bild says Ebnoutalib is expected to receive his first senior call-up for Morocco for the upcoming international matches at the end of March. The North African side, who finished runners-up at the African Cup of Nations, are scheduled to play friendlies against Ecuador on 27 March and Paraguay on 31 March, and Ebnoutalib is set to be part of the squad for those fixtures. The same report indicates that Eintracht teammate Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab, a 21-year-old attacker who moved from TSG Hoffenheim’s second team to Eintracht earlier this year and has already scored twice, will also be named.
Rapid Rise, Transfer and Return From Injury
Ebnoutalib’s ascent has been rapid. He moved from FC Gießen to SV Elversberg at the start of 2025, initially playing second fiddle to Fisnik Asllani at the 2nd Bundesliga club before stepping into a leading role and scoring twelve goals in the first half of the second-division season. That form prompted an early-January transfer to Eintracht Frankfurt, his hometown club, and a dream Bundesliga debut in which he scored a spectacular goal in a 3-3 home draw with Borussia Dortmund. A few days later he suffered a torn medial ligament in his knee in Stuttgart and has been sidelined since. The player has now returned to team training with Eintracht in recent days, and the forthcoming call-up would follow that comeback.
National Eligibility, Past Youth Contact and Family Roots
Ebnoutalib has previous links to morocco at youth level: he once accepted an invitation to join Morocco’s U15 national team but did not play in any matches and had no further selections until now. He grew up in Frankfurt; his mother is German and his father, Faissal, is Moroccan and moved to Germany in 1990. Faissal later became a naturalised citizen and won a silver medal for Germany in taekwondo at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney—details that underline the player’s dual-national background and the choice now facing him.
Implications For Germany’s World Cup Striker Picture
The decision to head to the Morocco setup arrives amid discussion over Germany’s striker resources for the World Cup. National coach Julian Nagelsmann has described the striker position as “at least one area we need to work on, ” and Ebnoutalib had been considered a possible surprise contender had his form and availability continued. With other forwards pushing for selection—Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav is in form, and attackers including Nick Woltemade and Kai Havertz are likely to be on the plane—Nagelsmann has also signalled a preference for a powerful aerial option, which makes Niclas Füllkrug a strong candidate. Ebnoutalib was seen as a potential alternative to that profile if his late-season breakthrough and Bundesliga impact had persisted.
The picture remains one of tentative confirmation: the report frames the Morocco call-up as imminent, and Ebnoutalib’s international future is described as a decision “for the time being. ” The upcoming friendlies at the end of March will offer the clearest, immediate test of how that choice plays out for the player and for the national teams involved.
