Manchester United’s chief executive Omar Berrada will be supporting Morocco at the World Cup, just as he’s supported them every time they’ve played in a World Cup since Mexico 1986.
Berrada was born in Paris to Moroccan parents and spent much of his childhood in Rabat. He loves football, chiefly the Moroccan national team. His first football memories were of the 1986 World Cup finals.
“Morocco played England and drew, then beat Portugal 3-1 to become the first African team to qualify from the group stage,” he said. “That was a proud moment for the country and I was completely hooked on football. It was Maradona’s World Cup.”
Manchester United had never had a Moroccan player until they signed Sofyan Amrabat on loan from Fiorentina in September 2023. Eleven months later, they signed Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.
Both were born in the Netherlands and became integral to Africa’s strongest national team, the seventh-ranked team in the world and the current continental champions, after Senegal were controversially stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations title.
Defender Mazraoui, 28, rose through the ranks at Ajax, where he spent 14 years, five of them in the first team, before a 2022 move to Bayern. He joined United two years later and enjoyed an excellent first term, one of the few bright spots in a season where United finished 15th. Erik ten Hag was the man who pushed hardest to sign Mazraoui, and while some of the other signings on Ten Hag’s watch failed, Mazraoui has justified the confidence shown in him.
Mazraoui’s second season in England was more challenging. He played less than 1,000 minutes because of injury. Injured for the first two games of the 2025/26 campaign, the defence was already settled by the time he returned. Unlike for Morocco, where he plays on the left side of defence, the left-back spot was taken by the ever-present Luke Shaw.
His best spell was interrupted by Afcon, meaning he missed eight United games, a substantial chunk of the season. He started all seven games for Morocco at Afcon, with six wins and one draw. So much for a winter break, which he’d previously enjoyed at Ajax and Bayern, something Mazraoui said he struggled with moving to the Premier League.
“Instead, you have even more games. Previously, I’d felt during the end of November or at the start of December that your body is looking forward to a little break. In the Premier League, you don’t get that one. So that was a hard period. I think from December to January were some hard months for me. Because you must get used to it and your body's used to something else, to a little break.
“You hope to stay fit and play as much as possible,” he added. “That hadn’t always been the case for me.”
He featured more towards the end of the season, starting seven of 11 games in the league. At his best, Mazraoui is technically secure on the ball with both feet, he dribbles well under pressure and his understanding of the game has impressed teammates and coaches. He is versatile and can also play at right-back like a modern-day Denis Irwin, United’s legendary full-back. When fit, he is Mr Consistent.
“Right full-back is my favourite position, my best position as well,” he said. “That's where everything goes automatic. When I get the ball, I know my options. I know what I can do, what I can't do. I know how to defend. It’s less thinking, it’s more enjoying”.
United knew they were getting a good player but were surprised at how agile and aggressive Mazraoui is, how strong too. He is respectful, unassuming and is well-liked by teammates, who gave him the nickname "Nous" at the start of the season after he had been away on a fishing holiday.
A devout Muslim, Mazraoui played and trained every day while fasting during Ramadan. He never complained; he never does. He simply does what is asked of him at a club where he’s desperate to do well and add to the four domestic titles (three in the Netherlands, one in Germany).
Mazraoui made his Morocco debut in 2018 in a friendly against Malawi and played a major role in helping Morocco – which will co-host the 2030 World Cup finals – in reaching the semi-finals in 2022. He has 45 caps for his country, but he’s not always been a guaranteed starter (disagreements with a former coach didn't help his cause).
That's changed under Mohamed Ouahbi, who succeeded Walid Regragui, the coach who led Morocco to that magical semi-final run at the last World Cup, in March, and he played in the recent friendlies against Madagascar and Norway.
Mazraoui started at left-back in both games, with captain Achraf Hakimi, the reigning African Footballer of the Year, at right-back. The United defender picked up a shoulder injury against Norway that saw him replaced in the 28th minute, making him a doubt for Morocco's opening group match against Brazil on June 13.
Morocco’s strength is their defence. They conceded only two goals at Afcon and will be favourites in the second and third group games against Scotland and Haiti. In part because they boast players of the quality of Noussair Mazraoui.
