Morocco

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·7 June 2026

Morocco – World Cup Profile

Morocco have endured quite an action-packed few months. First of all, the Atlas Lions lost in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations to Senegal in a most dramatic (and controversial) fashion.

Secondly, Walid Regragui, the manager who led Morocco to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup and the AFCON final resigned. He was replaced by Mohamed Ouahbi just months before the start of this summer’s tournament.

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Finally, Morocco were then awarded the Africa Cup of Nations title, as Senegal’s victory was overturned due to them walking off the pitch after the North Africans were awarded a penalty in the game.

Hectic to say the least, but Ouahbi’s side are still in a good place to enjoy a deep run in North America over the next few weeks.

“We are here to achieve great things. We truly hope to make Moroccans proud of their team and to be proud of being from Morocco. We came with the firm intention of showing that Morocco belongs among football’s great nations,” said the manager at a press conference ahead of their clash against Norway.

Brazil, Haiti and Scotland will be the opponents in Group C, and there is a strong France 98 vibe going on.

Back then, Morocco suffered a 3-0 loss to the Brazilians, but defeated Scotland by the same scoreline, yet failed to make it out of the group.

Having made history in Qatar four years ago, can Morocco go that deep once again? Only time will tell.

How Morocco qualified

Morocco were placed in CAF Group E in World Cup qualifying, alongside Niger, Tanzania, Zambia and Congo. Eritrea were looking to take part, but they withdrew before the start of the competition.

The Atlas Lions strolled to the top spot in the group by winning all eight of their matches. In the end, Morocco conceded just twice while scoring 22 goals, signifying how impressive they were.

This was the third World Cup in succession that Morocco had finished top of their qualifying group.

Key players

Brahim Diaz will be Morocco’s main man in North America this summer. The Real Madrid star has scored 13 goals in just 25 appearances for the national team since making his debut in March 2024 after switching allegiance from Spain.

At his only major international tournament, Diaz scored five times in seven games as Morocco reached the final. He did miss a penalty in the showpiece event, however, as Senegal initially won the tournament.

Diaz averaged 1.4 shots on target per game at the competition and finished with a 26% conversation percentage. A repeat of those sorts of displays this summer, and Morocco could go deep.

Achraf Hakimi is another one of Ouahbi’s key men heading into the World Cup, especially as he will be fighting fit. The defender was nursing a hamstring injury, but he returned for the Champions League final triumph over Arsenal last weekend, playing 120 minutes.

He didn’t feature against Madagascar a few days ago, but Hakimi could well get a runout in the final friendly against Norway.

Young winger Gessime Yassine is a player who has plenty of potential. The 20-year-old began the season with Ligue 2 side Dunkerque, but moved to Strasbourg in January. He failed to score for the Ligue 1 outfit, but there is no doubt he could be a useful impact substitute for Morocco this summer.

Morocco’s World Cup history

This will be Morocco’s seventh appearance at the World Cup finals. Making their debut at the 1970 edition, Morocco had to wait until 1986 to claim their first win at the competition.

The Atlas Lions made it out of the group stage in Mexico that year, but failed to do so at the 1994, 1998 and 2018 tournaments.

Who can forget 2022? Morocco made history by becoming the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Seven points from nine in the group stages saw Morocco through to the last 16, where they went on to defeat Spain on penalties and then Portugal, setting up a semi-final clash with France.

Unfortunately, it was a step too far, but a fourth-place finish was a stunning achievement.