Chelsea midfielder Hakim Ziyech and former captain Medhi Benatia have been left out of Morocco's squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon.

The two were omitted by coach Vahid Halilodzic for the continental competition which is scheduled to begin on January 9.

While Benatia's omission may not be a huge surprise, Ziyech's snub may come as a shock for many football fans in and out of Morocco.

Halilodzic however included Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi, Wolves defender Romain Saiss, Sevilla forward Youssef En-Nesyri, among other notable names.

He has also given a debut call-up to Barcelona forward Abdessamad Ezzalzouli.

The North Africans are pooled alongside Ghana, Gabon and Comoros in Group C.

Their first game is scheduled to be played on January 10 against Ghana at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaounde.

Here is a look at the full squad;

Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla, Spain), Mounir Mohamedi (Hatayspor, Turkey), Anas Zniti (Raja)

Defenders: Romain Saiss (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England), Nayef Aguerd (Stade Rennes, France), Sofiane Chakla (OH Leuven, Belgium), Sami Mmaee (Ferencvaros, Hungary), Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Sofiane Alakouche (Metz, France), Sofiane El Karouani (NEC Nijmegen, Netherlands), Adam Masina (Watford, England)

Midfielders: Sofiane Amrabat (Fiorentina, Italy), Ayman Barkok (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Faycal Fajr (Sevaspor, Turkey), Imran Loza (Watford, England), Ilias Chair (Queens Park Rangers, England), Selim Amallah (Standard Liege, Belgium), Azzedine Ounahi (Angers, France)

Forwards: Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Barcelona, ​​Spain), Munir El Haddadi (Sevilla, Spain), Zakaria Aboukhlal (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands), Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla, Spain), Ayoub El Kaabi (Wydad), Sofiane Boufal (Angers, France), Ryan Mmaee (Ferencvaros, Hungary)