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Regragui picks his dream Champions League XI and benches Olise

New Champions League pundit Walid Regragui unveiled his ideal team from players competing in the 2026-2027 edition. Michael Olise, Harry Kane and Declan Rice did not make the cut.

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Regragui picks his dream Champions League XI and benches Olise
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Walid Regragui delivered his first punditry exercise by picking a dream XI for the 2026-2027 Ligue des Champions, notably leaving out Michael Olise, Harry Kane and Declan Rice from his ideal team.

The former Morocco manager, without a club since stepping down from the national team role in March, made his broadcasting debut on Sunday evening on Canal Football Club, ahead of the new European campaign’s kickoff.

In goal, Regragui opted for Thibaut Courtois. His four-man defence is built around Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes on the flanks, with Dayot Upamecano and Willian Pacho in the centre. In midfield, the 50-year-old coach settled on Vitinha and Rodri to form the double pivot of his 4-2-3-1.

It is in the attacking sector that the choices are most revealing. Regragui lined up Lamine Yamal on the right, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the left and Ousmane Dembélé in support of Kylian Mbappé up front. A hierarchy that relegates Michael Olise, despite being in great form with Bayern Munich, to a substitute role in this theoretical exercise.

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