Marouane Chamakh - International Career

International Career

Chamakh is a Moroccan international at the senior level. Prior to representing Morocco, he played for the under-19 team of France and made his debut on 12 February 2003 in a friendly match against the Czech Republic. That was his only appearance with the team. Chamakh was called up to the team for the 2003 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, but declined the offer after being called up for Morocco national team duty by coach Badou Zaki for the team's 2004 African Cup of Nations qualification matches against Sierra Leone and Gabon. On 7 June 2003, he made his debut with the team in the match against Sierra Leone. On 10 September 2003, Chamakh scored both goals, which included his first international goal, in a 2–0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago. He participated in the rest of the qualification matches and was later named to participate in the tournament. Chamakh scored two goals in the competition; one against Benin in the group stage and another in the quarter-finals against Algeria. Morocco beat Mali in the semi-finals to reach the final where they faced Tunisia. In the match, Chamakh played the entire contest as Morocco were defeated 2–1 at the Stade 7 Novembre in Tunis.

In qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Chamakh scored three goals. One of his goals during qualification occurred on 8 October 2010 against Tunisia. With Morocco needing a win to qualify for the World Cup, Chamakh opened the scoring in the third minute. However, the match finished 2–2, which resulted in the team failing to qualify for the competition. However, the draw did allow Morocco qualification for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations. In the tournament, Morocco were eliminated in the group stage and departed the tournament without scoring a goal. In 2008, Chamakh was selected to participate in his third consecutive Africa Cup of Nations and was held scoreless in the competition as Morocco were again eliminated in the group stage. In 2009–2010, Chamakh appeared in only four matches and scored no goals as Morocco failed to qualify for both the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

On 11 August 2010, Chamakh captained the national team for the first time in a 2–1 win over the Equatorial Guinea. Three months later, he scored the opening goal in the team's 1–1 away draw to Northern Ireland. After going scoreless for six months at international level, on 4 June 2011, Chamakh scored the second goal in a 4–0 win over Algeria in qualification for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

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