“It is not normal that we have only won one Africa Cupin 1976. Our job is to change that.” The coach of Morocco, Walid Regraguiwhat is the objective with which your team starts in the competition that has just started. But his ambition goes much further. The Atlas Lions A few years ago they outlined a growth and modernization strategy until 2030 that is bearing sporting fruit. Yes in Qatar 2022 made history for him african soccer reaching, for the first time, the semifinals of a World Cup, now they want to lift a title. The only one they have is, as Regragui recalled, the Africa Cup that they won 49 years ago in a league format. In 2026 they are not only hosts, but also favorites.
Morocco began to attract attention on December 6, 2022, when in the round of 16 it eliminated the Spain of Luis Enrique. He had created problems for Croatia, Belgium and Canada, but against the Spanish team he was seen as an enemy. Even more so when in the quarterfinals Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo also stopped. Only France He stopped them in the semifinals and Croatia, once again, prevented him from getting on the podium.
This revelation team was not born by chance. Morocco has been committed to promoting its football for almost two decades. The first recipe was capture all the young talent who, with Moroccan roots, was spread across Europe to offer them to wear their shirt. Many of them had already debuted with the lower categories of their countries of birth, but the recruiters spread throughout Europe and Regragui’s arguments ended up convincing them. Only the footballer called to mark the next era escaped them: Lamine Yamal.
Of the 26 called for this championship, less than half, 12, were born in the Alawite kingdom. Five have Spanish passports from the consecrated Achraf Judgethe captain, or Brahim Diazeven the goalkeeper Munir El Kajoui and the forwards Alilya A this akih here e Izamel. The defender was born in France Romain SaissBayer Eliesse midfielder Ben Seghir and that of Rome treatment. In the Netherlands he caught three of his best footballers: Noussair Mazraouithe Betic Sofyan Amrabat y Hakim Ziyechabsent in this championship due to injury. Bilal arrived from Belgium El Khannous and Chemsdine Talbi and Canadian nationality does the Sevilla goalkeeper have Yassine Bounou.
To convince them, they needed to appeal to the heart… but also offer a project. “I knew where our team’s pain was coming from. We had to change our mentality. We have had players on very important teams, but it was time to look the greats in the eyes, without fear. That is the spark that we lit,” Regragui confessed. In 2009 the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Rabat, a 2.5 square kilometer high-performance facility where local talent can be trained in sport and study and which offers the best conditions for the men’s team, and also for the women’s team, whose direction was entrusted to Jorge Vilda. The Spanish coach led the lionesses to the final of the Women’s Africa Cup last summer, but Nigeria ended up becoming champions (2-3).
The growth of the national competition, the Botola, has also been encouraged so that promising players do not have to emigrate to other championships at the beginning of their careers, because the focus is on the organization of the World Cup 2030which will be shared with Spain and Portugal. This has led to more than 1.8 billion euros being invested in high-performance centers, more than 100 FIFA-approved fields throughout the country, and up to nine stadiums have been modernized, in places such as Rabat, Tangier, Fez, Agadir or Marrakech. The jewel is the Hassan II Stadium which is being built in Casablanca, with a capacity for 115,000 spectators and which will fight to host the World Cup final in five years.
Brahim celebrates the goal he scored in the opening match.
There was no rush with sporting successes, but they have arrived. The senior team has qualified for the World Cup USA, Mexico y Canadathe fourth consecutive that they will compete, as comfortable as it is brilliant. Not only did they finish undefeated, but Niger was the only opponent capable of scoring a goal against them. They qualified for this Africa Cup with the same force: without losing and with only another goal against, this time scored by Gabon.
However, the results of investment in the base arrive very strongly. In 2023, Morocco was champion of the Under-23 Africa Cuprunner-up in the U-17 category and fourth in the World Cup. In 2024, at the Paris Games, they won the bronze medal and just a few months ago, in Chile, they made history by proclaiming themselves Under-20 World Champions. They beat Spain and Brazil in the group stage and got rid of Korea, the United States and France, on penalties, in the crossroads until they reached the final with Argentina, which they beat 0-2.
The challenge now is to lift this Africa Cup and look again at a World Cup showcase in which, in the initial phase, it will have Brazil, Haiti y Scotland.