Cancellation of the friendly match between Morocco and El Salvador

The friendly match between Morocco and El Salvador, which was scheduled during the international window in June in the United States, days before the start of the 2026 World Cup, was cancelled, due to the impossibility of transporting it to Rabat, so the host replaced it by facing the Qatar national team, according to what was confirmed by the President of the Salvadoran Football Federation, Yamil Bukele, after receiving an official letter from the Moroccan side.

Bukele explained that his country’s national team will face Al-Annabi on June 6 in Los Angeles, noting that the match will not be broadcast on television based on a decision from the authorities supervising the Qatari national team.

He said: “We can confirm that one of the national team’s matches during this window will be against Qatar on June 6 in Los Angeles, and we will soon announce the second friendly match during this period.”

Regarding the reasons for canceling the confrontation against Morocco, Bukele indicated that the Moroccan Federation informed its Salvadoran counterpart of the impossibility of his traveling before the match to the United States on June 3 due to his inability to summon the entire national team.

On the other hand, the Moroccan Federation proposed holding the match on June 2 in Rabat, with all travel costs for the El Salvador delegation to the African continent being borne.

The Moroccan Federation’s correspondence stated, “The coincidence of several factors, including the matches of the continental club championships in Asia and Europe, whose final rounds will be held starting on May 25, in addition to the association of a number of our international players with their clubs, and the amendments that occurred in the calendar of local competitions in Morocco and Saudi Arabia, as well as injuries among some of the key players, made the team unable to rely on at least a third of its candidate list to be on the final list submitted to the International Federation of Association Football.” The foot.”

The letter added that traveling to the United States on May 29 with an incomplete list “does not seem logical,” confirming the inability to play the match that was scheduled in Washington.

For its part, the Salvadoran Federation expressed its appreciation for the Moroccan initiative, but confirmed that it could not be met, explaining that FIFA regulations prohibit playing matches on two different continents during the same international window, in addition to the national team’s commitment to a pre-determined technical program that includes playing two friendly matches.

It is noteworthy that the Qatar national team has qualified for the 2026 World Cup through the Asian qualifiers, where it will participate in the second group alongside Canada, Bosnia and Switzerland, while Morocco will play in the third group alongside Brazil, Scotland and Haiti, after its historic achievement of reaching the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup.

The Qatari national team will also play a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland national team next Thursday, May 28, at the Aviva Stadium in the Irish capital, Dublin.