Welcome to our series of individual World Cup team previews, primarily for the national sides coming to play at New York/New Jersey Stadium over in East Rutherford, New Jersey. We'll be rolling these out over the next days in the lead-up to the first New Jersey-hosted World Cup match on Saturday, June 13. These are free for all to read, but we'd greatly appreciate if you contributed to our site's sustainability by becoming a paid subscriber, or by making a one-time donation.
Morocco became the first-ever member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to reach a World Cup semi-final at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, though they lost 2-0 to France in that semifinal.
Since that semifinal, Morocco played 58 matches and only lost four of them, theoretically.
It's theoretically four, but the number really should be five losses for The Atlas Lions, given they lost 1-0 to Senegal in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in January on their home soil, though that match ultimately devolved into one of the most chaotic scenes the sport has ever seen.
So chaotic that the on-field result, a 1-0 Senegal victory, got thrown out by the Appeals Board of CAF and reversed into a 3-0 Morocco win in the eyes of the federation — though Morocco is appealing that decision, too. That final and its farce-like ending became a defining event in the history of African soccer, but Morocco will now hope to wipe away all that weirdness by putting together another deep run in the World Cup.
Expectations are different this time, though, thanks to the 2022 run to the semis, and thanks to the dominance Morocco showed in the years between tournaments. No one will be taken by surprise by them in 2026 because the talent is plentiful, and they'll now look to back it up at this tournament so they can head into the 2030 World Cup, which they'll co-host with Spain and Portugal, as a true contender.
ELO Rating: 24th
Group C: Brazil, Haiti, Scotland, Morocco
Group Schedule
vs Brazil, Saturday, June 13, East Rutherford, New Jersey, 6:00 pm ET
vs Scotland, Friday, June 19, Boston, Massachusetts, 6:00 pm ET
vs Haiti, Wednesday, June 24, Atlanta, Georgia, 6:00 pm ET
At their last World Cup: 2022, 4th Place. Lost Semifinal 2-0 vs France, lost Third-Place Match 2-1 vs Croatia
Record in qualifying: 8W-0D-0L, +20 goal differential (22 gf/2 ga)
Head Coach: Mohamed Ouahbi
Record with Morocco: 3W-1D-0L, +10 goal differential
Preferred formation: 4-2-3-1
Nickname: The Atlas Lions
Pre-tournament vibe check
How will Morocco adjust to playing under a new head coach who only has four matches under his belt leading the senior national team?
Mohamed Ouahbi took over for the man who led Morocco at the 2022 World Cup and to that recent AFCON final, Walid Regragui. Regragui parted with the national team only three months ago in early-March, saying at the time that "The team needs a fresh face, a different energy, and a new perspective with a new coach."
The coach tapped to replace him has no experience managing senior national teams, but he did win the 2025 U20 World Cup with Morocco, and his other main experience involves years coaching in the youth academy for Anderlecht in Belgium.
This isn't a youth development project, though, as Morocco have big expectations and a solidly-built foundation already in place. They actually added talent to their player pool recently, with FIFA clearing them to call up two players, Fulham FC defender Issa Diop and and Ajax midfielder Rayane Bounida, who are dual-nationals eligible to represent Morocco plus another country.
Who to watch
Morocco's wide attacking players.
Attacking right-back Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain is the biggest international star in this squad and captains the side, with 11 goals scored and 19 assists recorded across 95 total appearances for The Atlas Lions. He's the player most recognizable to the casual World Cup watcher, and he'll be expected to continue to push up-field when opportunities are there for Morocco in possession, making it so that the team's usual 4-2-3-1 formation can shift into a 3-2-4-1 with Hakimi's opposite fullback, Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui, tucking in to form a back-three. That's all with a potential caveat around Hakimi's health: He battled an injury that had him questionable heading into the UEFA Champions League final for PSG, but played in that game and now seems on track to be ready for the World Cup, even if he didn't feature in Morocco's going-away friendly, a lopsided win over Madagascar.
It's not all about Hakimi out wide, though, as Morocco also features Real Betis winger Abde Ezzalzouli (15 goals, 10 assists at club level in 2025/26) and Real Madrid's Brahim Díaz (13 goals in 25 career appearances for Morocco). What the trio of Hakimi, Ezzalzouli, and Díaz can create from the wide areas might dictate how much attacking joy Morocco finds in the US this summer.
It's not just a matter of these promising wide players creating chances for themselves, but also setting up opportunities for whoever Ouahbi starts at center-forward between Roma's Ismael Saibari (just linked with a move to FC Bayern Munich this week) or Olympiacos striker Ayoub El Kaabi.
X-factors
The defense is a strength of Morocco, though they're now integrating a new center-back in Diop and waiting to see if one of their usual center-back starters, Nayef Aguerd of Olympique de Marseille, will be healthy enough to participate in this tournament.
Hakimi and Mazraoui are the stalwarts at fullback, and long-serving goalkeeper Yassine Bounou will be there after keeping six clean sheets during CAF World Cup qualifying, but how the rest of that back line shakes out could decide how far Morocco makes it. Issa Diop is new to the setup and if Aguerd isn't healthy, it will be a big test for Chadi Riad of Crystal Palace FC, a potential all-London pairing that could make or break Morocco's chances.
The full 26-player roster
Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal), Munir El Kajoui (RS Berkane), Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (AS FAR)
Defenders: Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United), Anass Salah-Eddine (PSV), Youssef Belammari (Al Ahly), Nayef Aguerd (Marseille), Chadi Riad (Crystal Palace), Issa Diop (Fulham), Redouane Halhal (Mechelen), Achraf Hakimi (PSG), 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)
Forwards: Abde Ezzalzouli (Real Betis), Chemsdine Talbi (Sunderland), Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos), Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid), Yassine Gessime (Strasbourg), Ayoube Amaimouni (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Our predicted Starting XI
