Ajax Amsterdam striker Nourdin Boukhari celebrated his return to Morocco’s national team with a goal in November’s friendly against Burkina Faso in Rabat. It was the first strike at international level in seven appearances for the 24-year-old Ajax striker, who was born in the Netherlands to Moroccan parents. Boukhari is hoping now to claim a regular place in the squad as Morocco turn their attention to this year’s FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. They meet Kenya in February in Rabat for a Group Five qualifier postponed from last year.

FIFAworldcup.com: How excited are you about your return to international football with the Moroccan national team, and that first goal against Burkina Faso?
It means they trust me and it’s always nice to play for your country. I have had many discussions with the coach (Badou Ezaki) and my return to the first team at Ajax has helped matters. That is what has led to me being invited back to the Morocco team again and the coach has told me I am going to be called back for more games.

Why had you been out of the team for such a long time?
I think because the coach (Ezaki) only wanted to use players who were regulars at their clubs in the first team and I was a player who was playing sometimes and sometimes not. Last season I was loaned by Ajax to NAC Breda where I got more regular football and now coming back to Ajax and being in the team has led to me playing again. Ezaki obviously had his own choices when he took over as coach from Coelho but if his own players don’t do well, then obviously players like me get a chance again and that’s why I’m back in the team.

What you think of young Moroccan side that Ezaki has built in recent years, the one that reached the final of the African Nations Cup last year?
We have a good team and it’s still young with three or four veterans like (Tottenham Hotspur defender Noureddine) Naybet, but it is growing. Obviously we hope we will go to the World Cup finals.

The next match for Morocco against Kenya presents you with the first chance to play in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. How excited are you about that?
I’m so excited to play the game and to win it, of course. We know that we must win the game because we have Guinea in front of us in the standings and Tunisia just behind. But if we can win the four home games that we still have to play in the group then we know that we have a great chance to go to the World Cup finals. It’s really exciting.

Who is the stronger of the opponents in your group – Guinea or Tunisia?
Tunisia, because they have good players and they won the African Nations Cup. They beat us 2-1 in the final. I think Guinea also have good players but we will have to wait and see who finishes on top. I hope that we will do better than both of them and go to the World Cup.

Coach Ezaki recently called up six players from the Dutch league to the Moroccan squad. Why all of a sudden so many players from the Netherlands, many of whom like you were born in Holland of Moroccan heritage?
It is because he (the coach) wants to try some new players because a lot of the players he has from France and from Portugal play in the second division or they don’t play in their teams at all. These Dutch players are regulars with their teams and play week-in and week-out and for 90 minutes. He talked all the time about the players in Holland and I told him they were good players and that he should try them in a game. This he has now done and hopefully they will be called up for the match against Kenya and I will have my 'Oranje' mates with me again!

Do you all speak Dutch with each other?
Yes, yes. I speak Dutch, of course. In the national team the players speak French or Arabic and for me that is a little bit of a problem because I don’t know any French and just a little bit of Arabic. And the coach doesn’t speak English, and not many of the players either, just a few, so communication can be difficult at times.

Do you feel Moroccan when you play for them in the national team or are you still a little torn by the fact that you come from the Netherlands?
I chose to play for Morocco because I’m proud to be Moroccan and it is an honour to play for the national team of my country. If I am in the team of Morocco, then I’m one of them and that’s how I feel, I feel a Moroccan. When I’m in Holland, I live there, and if I walk around I feel a little bit Dutch too. But if I am playing for the Moroccan national side, then obviously I am a Moroccan. Even when I’m in Holland, I’m more Moroccan than Dutch.

At the beginning of the season, you were not in Ajax Amsterdam’s plans and they did not even give you a squad number. In six months you have worked your way into the team. How have you managed this?
It was a little bit difficult. At the start of the season I believed that I would be going to another club and this almost happened, but the coach (Ronald Koeman) gave me a chance when some of the players on the left side of attack were injured and the after just two days of training I had to play for 90 minutes in a game. That went well for me and I was man of the match in that game and my form was consistent after that as well. Now I’m still here.

Is there a possibility that in one year’s time you could be in the Ajax team in the UEFA Champions League final and then going to the FIFA World Cup with Morocco?
I hope! We lost in the Champions League this season but we have the UEFA Cup coming up (Ajax play AJ Auxerre of France in the knockout round in February). I hope we will do well there and go far in the UEFA Cup, even to win it. We have a squad that is capable of doing that. Hopefully we will qualify for the World Cup. It has been a strange year for me, but a great one.