Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal has praised Morocco star Hakim Ziyech and feels he has fully justified his return to the national team with his performances at the World Cup.

The Moroccan international has struggled for game time at Chelsea under Graham Potter but has been one of the best players at the World Cup.

Van Gaal – who is preparing for his own tie against Argentina on Friday – was asked a lengthy question about Morocco’s progress at the World Cup and the abundance of Moroccan players who have played in the Eredivisie, as well as being asked for his thoughts on manager Regragui.

“Well I can’t judge [axed Spain boss] Luis Enrique nor can I judge or assess your head coach [Regragui],” Van Gaal said.

“But I can answer the other question by talking about Ziyech for instance. He was of course trained in the Netherlands and Ziyech is a wonderful player.

“He makes an enormous contribution to the Moroccan squad and before this new head coach came in he wasn’t being played, so that says something about the head coach.

“I think it’s great that Morocco has advanced in the World Cup because Morocco is not known for being a top football country.

“But in general if we look at the Moroccan players in our league [Eredivisie], usually they are technically very skilled and I think it’s always a pleasure to watch them play football.”

Ziyech – who came through the academy at Heerenveen before playing for FC Twente and Ajax – was born in the Netherlands and actually played for them up to Under-21 level until declaring for Morocco.