After making history at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by becoming the first-ever African and Arab nation to reach the semi-finals in the competition, Morocco head to North America this summer with a new coach, a reimagined squad and higher expectations, but face tricky opposition.
The Atlas Lions will be making their seventh appearance – and third in a row – in the World Cup finals and have landed in Group C alongside Brazil, Scotland, and Haiti.
How Morocco qualified for the 2026 World Cup
Morocco were the first nation from the African continent to punch their ticket to the 2026 World Cup after sweeping their CAF qualifying Group E with a 100 per cent winning record.
Group E was limited to just five teams – Morocco, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania and Niger – after Eritrea’s withdrawal, and there was further disruption when Congo got suspended between February and May 2025 due to government interference in their football federations affairs.
Morocco comfortably topped the group with a maximum 24 points from eight victories, keeping six clean sheets and conceding just two goals.
Olympiacos striker Ayoub El Kaabi was top scorer in the group, with four goals, one ahead of his compatriot Ismael Saibari.
How are they shaping up?
It’s been an interesting time for the Moroccans, who went from suffering a heartbreaking and dramatic loss to Senegal in a controversial Africa Cup of Nations final, on home soil, only to be awarded the title on appeal two months later.
The Atlas Lions also got a new head coach, Mohamed Ouahbi, after Walid Regragui, who had a highly-successful three-and-a-half-year stint at the helm, announced in March that he was stepping down from his role.
The Belgium-born Ouahbi was in charge of the Morocco U20 squad who won a historic World Cup title in Chile last year.
Taking on the role just three months before Morocco kick off their World Cup campaign against Brazil in New Jersey, Ouahbi had no time to waste and found himself in the dugout during two friendlies a mere three weeks after his appointment.
Morocco drew 1-1 with Ecuador at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid before beating Paraguay 2-1 at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens, France.
Roma midfielder Neil El Aynaoui was on the scoresheet in both games, redeeming himself after his penalty was saved earlier in the game against Ecuador. El Aynaoui was one of the biggest revelations of Morocco’s run to the Afcon title and he impressed in his first two games under Ouahbi.
The Moroccans plan on playing two more warm-up games ahead of the World Cup, one against Madagascar at Grand Stade de Marrakech on June 2 and one against Norway at Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey on June 7.
They also beat Burundi 5-0 in a closed-door friendly.
Evolving squad shaped by new leadership
Ouahbi faces an enormous challenge as he looks to keep up the momentum he built from guiding the Atlas Cubs to the U20 World Cup crown, while taking control of a Moroccan first team that is essentially in a rebuilding phase.
In a span of less than four years, Morocco established themselves as a force in global football, shining at World Cups with both the first team and the U20s, winning the Afcon title, and clinching the bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
A certain standard has been set and Ouahbi has to find a way to, at the very least, maintain it, or, even better, raise it.
He is also expected to bring back Morocco’s attacking brand of football, which they lacked during the Afcon – something that earned Regragui lots of criticism from fans and pundits alike.
There is such depth in talent when it comes to Moroccan players, which is a privilege for any coach; but it can also be a headache.
Ouahbi gave us an idea of the direction he wants to take the team in when he announced the squad list for the March friendlies, which included just six players of the 26 that went to the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The final 26-player roster announced on May 26 included nine players that went to Qatar 2022.
With a wealth of experience developing young talent (he spent nearly two decades coaching at Anderlecht Academy), Ouahbi has a clear vision to mix experience with youth as he ushers in Morocco’s future superstars.
Former Fenerbahce and Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri, who scored for Morocco in each of the last two World Cups, including the winning goal against Portugal in Qatar, did not get the call-up in March and missed out on a spot on the group that is World Cup-bound.
The 28-year-old moved to Saudi giants Al Ittihad during the winter transfer window but has been inconsistent, particularly in crucial games, despite netting seven goals in 15 appearances.
Other debatable omissions included MAS Fes forward Soufiane Benjdida and Rayo Vallecano winger Ilias Akhomach, while fresh faces were brought in, like Gessime Yassine (Strasbourg) and Samir El Mourabet (Strasbourg) who were coached by Ouahbi during his time with the U20 team.
The toughest decisions are probably around central defence, in the wake of Romain Saiss’s international retirement. But Ouahbi will be pleased he can now rely on Fulham centre-back Issa Diop, who got the clearance from Fifa to represent Morocco just hours before he made his debut for the North Africans in March.
PSV Eindhoven defender Anass Salah-Eddine and 18-year-old Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi also had their change of national eligibility approved by Fifa within the past nine months and have made the squad heading to the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi returned to training on May 26 after dealing with a hamstring injury he picked up in PSG’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich in late April.
Also in the final squad list is Marseille defender Nayef Aguerd, who hasn’t played since early March due to a persistent groin injury.
Diaz recaptures form just in time for World Cup
Before the shock of his missed Panenka in the final against Senegal, Brahim Diaz was the undisputed hero for Morocco during the 2025 Afcon.
The Real Madrid winger scored in five consecutive games to help guide the hosts to the title and earned the Golden Boot with his handful of goals.
While he had been struggling to get minutes on a stacked Real Madrid squad early in the season, Diaz has been a key figure for Los Blancos in the second half of the campaign, and celebrated a century of La Liga appearances with the club during a draw against Girona last month.
His uptick in performance is great news for Morocco, who will rely on the 26-year-old to bring speed, technical prowess, and attacking heft in North America.
With the drama of the Afcon final firmly behind him, Diaz has every reason to shine for the North Africans next month in the United States.
Fixtures
Group C
June 14: v Brazil – MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
June 20: v Scotland – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
June 25: v Haiti – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Squad
Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal), Munir Mohamedi (RS Berkane), Ahmed Tagnaouti (Royal Armed Forces)
Defenders: Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United), Anass Salah-Eddine (PSV Eindhoven), Youssef Belammari (Al Ahly), Nayef Aguerd (Marseille), Chadi Riad (Crystal Palace), Issa Diop (Fulham), Redouane Halhal (KV Mechelen), Achraf Hakimi (Paris St-Germain), Zakaria El Ouahdi (Genk)
Midfielders: Samir El Mourabet (Strasbourg), Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille), Neil El Aynaoui (Roma), Sofyan Amrabat (Real Betis), Azzedine Ounahi (Girona), Bilal El Khannouss (Stuttgart), Ismael Saibari (PSV Eindhoven)
Forwards: Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Real Betis), Chemsdine Talbi (Sunderland), Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos), Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid), Yassine Gessime (Strasbourg), Ayoub Amaimouni-Echghouyabe (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Reserves: Goalkeeper El Mehdi Al Harrar (Raja Casablanca), centre-back Marwane Saadane (Al-Fateh) and winger Amine Sbaï (Angers).
