Racing
Are Morocco poised to become Africa’s first World Cup winners?
Morocco’s 2022 World Cup team made history. They provided one of the stories of the tournament in Qatar by making an incredible run to the semi-finals, becoming the first African side to make the final four of a World Cup. Three-and-a-half years later, the Atlas Lions might be even stronger.
Through to the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, Morocco should be taken seriously as contenders. While others are favoured ahead of them to get their hands on the famous trophy at MetLife Stadium on July 19th, Mohamed Ouahbi’s team are just three games away from becoming Africa’s first World Cup winners.
France stand between Morocco and a place in the semi-finals for the second World Cup in a row. Kylian Mbappe and co. have forged the most frightening forward line in the entire tournament and are widely considered favourites to win the World Cup for the third time in their history.
If, however, there is a team capable of stopping Les Bleus, it could be Morocco. They have the adaptability to get the better of Didier Deschamps’ side having demonstrated a number of different sides to their game over the course of the 2026 World Cup to date. The Atlas Lions are a more rounded outfit than they were in 2022.
Ayyoub Bouaddi’s emergence is a big reason why this is the case. The 18-year-old is an all-round central midfielder in the way he can control matches with the ball at his feet, but also in the manner he offers protection out of possession. There’s a good reason some of Europe’s biggest clubs are reportedly tracking him.
Neil El Aynaoui is another player whose emergence has allowed Morocco to evolve their playing style. Like Bouaddi, the Roma midfielder is comfortable with the ball at his feet. He is the sort of central pace-setter the Atlas Lions lacked at the 2022 World Cup when they had no choice but to play on the break.
Three-and-a-half years ago, Brahim Diaz had yet to switch his national allegiance to Morocco. Now, he is the primary creator for a team that is more capable of imposing its own game on opponents. Ismael Saibari is another player whose emergence has improved Morocco’s general level.
“We’re no longer a surprise today and that’s a great source of pride,” said Ouahbi when asked about the impact Morocco have made on the last two World Cups and whether they could go even further than they did in Qatar. “I think this is only the beginning and I hope we’ll keep producing this kind of run for many years.”
Morocco has invested a lot in the grassroots of its national game over the last decade or so. Millions have been spent on academy facilities and coaching with even more splurged on the construction of new stadiums with the country co-hosting the 2030 World Cup. Morocco wants to become a footballing superpower and is on its way to achieving this goal.
Victory over France would be another sign of this. Morocco might have evolved their playing style since the 2022 World Cup, but their win over Canada in the round of 16 showed they can still use the counter-attacking playbook to get the better of an opponent. They still have that element to their game three-and-a-half years on from their semi-final success in Qatar.
An African winner of the World Cup has been spoken about for decades. Pele once predicted an African team would get their hands on the trophy by the turn of the millennium. That, of course, didn’t happen, but Morocco are emerging as the sort of nation and team that could make history.
