El Mehdi Al Harrar
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | El Mehdi Al Harrar | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 30 November 2000 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Casablanca, Morocco | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Raja CA | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 12 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| –2019 | SCC Mohammédia | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2024 | SCC Mohammédia | 34 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Raja CA | 23 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Morocco A' | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Morocco | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 6 July 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 August 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
El Mehdi Al Harrar (Arabic: المهدي الحرار; born 30 November 2000) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper with Botola side Raja CA and the Morocco national team.[1]
He started playing football with Chabab Mohammédia academy before reaching the first team in 2019. He played there for five years and won the Botola Pro2 in 2019–20. In 2024, he joined Raja CA and established himself after the departure of club captain Anas Zniti.
Club career
Chabab Mohammédia
El Mehdi Al Harrar is a product of Chabab Mohammedia's youth system.
In 2019, he joined the first team at the age of 19 under the direction of Marco Simone. The Italian manager was dismissed after nine games, he was replaced by Bernard Rodriguez then by Mohamed Amine Benhachem, the club managed despite this instability to be crowned champion of Botola Pro2, synonymous with accession to the first division.[2][3]
On 4 December 2020, he made his Botola debut against Moghreb de Tétouan at Moulay Abdallah Stadium (0–2 win). During his four years in Mohammédia, Al Harrar was in competition with Youssef El Motie for the starting position, then after the latter's departure, with Soufiane Barrouhou.
Raja CA
In April 2024, it was announced in the press that El Mehdi Al Harrar had reached an agreement with Raja Club Athletic to join them in the summer, while his contract with Chabab Mohammédia was coming to the end.[4]
In July, Raja CA officially announced the recruitment of the goalkeeper who signed a three-year contract. He declared that he had finally fulfilled his dream of playing for the club of his childhood.[5]
On October 9, he played his first match with the Greens against Moghreb de Tétouan in the third match of the Excellence Cup (0–1 win).[6][7]
International career
On 11 November 2024, he was called-up by Tarik Sektioui with the national A' team which brings together local players under 24, for a preparation training camp at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Salé, from November 11 to 20.[8]
On 23 July 2025, he was announced as one of Sektioui's players called up for the 2024 African Nations Championship.[9]
On 3 August 2025, the Atlas Lions began the group stage with a victory against Angola (2–0).[10] However, they were surprisingly beaten by the host country, Kenya, by a score of 1–0.[11] In a difficult situation, they bounced back against Zambia (goals from Hrimat, Lamlioui and Bougrine) and the DR Congo (goals from Hrimat and a brace from Lamliou).[12][13] This success allowed the team to qualify for the quarter-finals where they eliminated the surprise of the tournament, Tanzania, by the narrowest of margins (1–0), in Dar es Salaam.[14] In the semi-finals, the Moroccans faced the defending champions, Senegal. After a hard-fought match that ended 1–1 with a superb goal from Sabir Bougrine, Morocco won on penalties (5–3), thus reaching the final.[15] On August 30, at the Nyayo National Stadium, the Atlas Lions won the title by beating Madagascar 3–2, thanks to a brace from Oussama Lamlioui.[16] Having played every possible minute, Al Harrar is cited among the architects of this success.[17]
On 28 August 2025, he received his first call-up from Walid Regragui to join the Atlas Lions, to face Niger and Zambia in the new Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium, and qualify to the 2026 World Cup. He was listed as the third goalkeeper behind Yassine Bounou and Munir El Kajoui.[18][19] Along with Youssef Belammari, he was called-up while still in Nairobi to play the African Nations Championship.[20]
Honours
Chabab Mohammédia
Morocco A'
References
- ^ "Maroc - M. Harrar - Profile avec news, statistiques de carrières et historique - Soccerway". fr.soccerway.com. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ DAROUICHE, Mohamed (4 December 2019). "Botola 2 : Le Chabab Mohammedia en perte de vitesse". Hespress Français - Actualités du Maroc (in French). Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ F, Rédaction (10 October 2020). "Ahmed Faras exprime sa joie de revoir le Chabab Mohammedia en D1 (VIDEO)". LeSiteinfo.com (in French). Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ "الرجاء البيضاوي يتمكن من جلب حارس مرمى جديد". كازا 24 (in Arabic). Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ "الحارس المهدي الحرار يتحدث عن طموحاته مع الرجاء البيضاوي (+فيديو)". كازا 24 (in Arabic). Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ ""كأس التميز"/ تشكيلة الرجاء أمام م. التطواني.. أعمامو ومشخشخ يقودان الدفاع ونجاري والمعموري وساخو في الهجوم". www.elbotola.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ "الرجاء الرياضي يُحقق انتصاره الأول في كأس التميز بعد فوزه على المغرب التطواني (0-1)". www.elbotola.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ Senoussi, Zoubida (11 November 2024). "L'équipe nationale des joueurs nés en 2000 et après en stage de préparation à Salé". Hespress Français - Actualités du Maroc (in French). Retrieved 12 April 2025.
- ^ "Tarik Sektioui dévoile sa liste des Lions de l'Atlas pour le CHAN". Le 360 Sport Français (in French). Retrieved 27 July 2025.
- ^ Chaabi, Chady (3 August 2025). "CHAN 2024. Le Maroc s'offre une première victoire face à l'Angola (2-0)". Médias24 numéro un de l'information économique marocaine (in French). Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ PAMOJA 2024, In a packed Moi International Sports Centre, Kenya pulled off a memorable 1-0 victory over Morocco, two-time tournament champions, to remain unbeaten at the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN). "Kenya Defeat Morocco With 10 Men and Edge Closer to CHAN Quarterfinals". beIN SPORTS. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Morocco bounce back with 3-1 win, Zambia exit CHAN". Morocco bounce back with 3-1 win, Zambia exit CHAN. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ Chaabi, Chady (17 August 2025). "CHAN 2024. Le Maroc retrouve la Tanzanie en quart après sa victoire face à la RDC (3-1)". Médias24 numéro un de l'information économique marocaine (in French). Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "Morocco edge Tanzania in Dar to reach CHAN semi-finals". Morocco edge Tanzania in Dar to reach CHAN semi-finals. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "Morocco beat title holders Senegal on penalties to reach CHAN final". Morocco beat title holders Senegal on penalties to reach CHAN final. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "Morocco 3-2 Madagascar (Aug 30, 2025) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "El Mehdi El Harrar, révélation du CHAN qui a séduit Walid Regragui". Le 360 Sport Français (in French). Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ سبورت, لوماتان (28 August 2025). "استدعاءات جديدة وعودة وجوه شابة في لائحة المنتخب المغربي". Lematin Sports (in Arabic). Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ Benkiran, Rabei. "La liste de Regragui dévoilée, avec El Karouani et El Aynaoui". L'Opinion Maroc - Actualité et Infos au Maroc et dans le monde. (in French). Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ "الشان يهدي الحرار مكانا مع الأسود". جريدة المنتخب (in Arabic). 28 August 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.