Morocco are the fairy-tale story of the 2022 World Cup, having become the first African team to reach the semifinals. That's where their magical run ended with a loss to defending champions France.
They have defeated some strong opponents, with Belgium being defeated 2-0 in the group stage before Spain fell to them in a penalty shootout in the Round of 16. The Atlas Lions then took care of Portugal in the quarterfinals to make history by reaching the semis.
Walid Regragui wasn't even the coach who secured qualification for the World Cup, but he has selected a team that is very difficult to break down and has the attacking stars in Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri to punish teams.
Morocco is part of the 8 teams going to the quarter-finals!#DimaMaghrib 🇲🇦 #TeamMorocco #FIFAWorldCup @pumafootball pic.twitter.com/E2ICnRhBz5
— Équipe du Maroc (@EnMaroc) December 6, 2022
World Cup 2022 selected squads
Australia | Argentina | Belgium | Brazil | Cameroon
Canada | Costa Rica | Croatia | Denmark | England
France | Germany | Ghana | Iran | Japan | Mexico
Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Senegal
Serbia | Spain | Switzerland | Uruguay | USA | Wales
Final 26-man Morocco World Cup squad
Regragui named his final 26-man squad on Thursday, November 10, four days before the FIFA-imposed deadline.
Nations had until Friday, October 21 to submit an official preliminary list of 35-55 players to FIFA, from which they were required to select a final 26-man roster for Qatar by Monday, November 14.
Here's the final 26 man squad. (Stats correct as of December 8)
| Position | Number | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | 1 | Yassine Bounou | Sevilla (SPA) | 31 | 46 |
| Goalkeeper | 12 | Munir | Al Wehda (KSA) | 33 | 43 |
| Goalkeeper | 22 | Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti | Wydad (MOR) | 26 | 3 |
| Defender | 2 | Achraf Hakimi | PSG (FRA) | 24 | 54 |
| Defender | 3 | Noussair Mazraoui | Bayern Munich (GER) | 24 | 15 |
| Defender | 6 | Romain Saiss | Besiktas (TUR) | 32 | 66 |
| Defender | 5 | Nayef Aguerd | West Ham (ENG) | 26 | 22 |
| Defender | 20 | Achraf Dari | Brest (FRA) | 23 | 4 |
| Defender | 18 | Jawad El-Yamiq | Valladolid (SPA) | 30 | 12 |
| Defender | 25 | Yahia Attiyat Allah | Wydad (MOR) | 27 | 2 |
| Defender | 24 | Badr Benoun | Qatar SC (QAT) | 29 | 3 |
| Midfielder | 4 | Sofyan Amrabat | Fiorentina (ITA) | 26 | 39 |
| Midfielder | 15 | Selim Amallah | Standard Liege (BEL) | 25 | 24 |
| Midfielder | 11 | Abdelhamid Sabiri | Sampdoria (ITA) | 25 | 2 |
| Midfielder | 8 | Azzedine Ounahi | Angers (FRA) | 22 | 10 |
| Midfielder | 23 | Bilal El Khannouss | Genk (BEL) | 18 | 0 |
| Midfielder | 26 | Yahya Jabrane | Wydad (MOR) | 31 | 5 |
| Forward | 7 | Hakim Ziyech | Chelsea (ENG) | 24 | 43 |
| Forward | 19 | Youssef En-Nesyri | Sevilla (SPA) | 25 | 50 |
| Forward | 17 | Sofiane Boufal | Angers (FRA) | 29 | 32 |
| Forward | 14 | Zakaria Aboukhlal | Toulouse (FRA) | 22 | 12 |
| Forward | 16 | Ez Abde | Osasuna (SPA) | 20 | 2 |
| Forward | 10 | Anass Zaroury | Burnley (ENG) | 22 | 1 |
| Forward | 13 | Ilias Chair | QPR (ENG) | 25 | 11 |
| Forward | 9 | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al Ittihad (KSA) | 31 | 18 |
| Forward | 21 | Walid Cheddira | Bari (ITA) | 24 | 2 |
🚨 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Morocco have announced their 2022 World Cup squad. ⭐️🇲🇦 pic.twitter.com/2KTWGc3jIn
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) November 10, 2022
The biggest absences from the final list are:
- Amine Harit (Marseille)
- Younes Belhanda (Adana Demirspor)
- Nordin Amrabat (AEK Athens)
- Hamza Mendyl (OH Leuven)
- Munir El Haddadi (Getafe)
- Zouhair Feddal (Real Valladolid)
Tricky winger Harit was originally named in the squad, but he suffered an injury before the tournament and was forced to withdraw from the final squad. He was replaced by Anass Zaroury.
The only player who had never been previously called up for the national team was midfielder Bilal El Khannouss, who plies his trade with Belgian side Genk.
Morocco best player, strengths & weaknesses
Morocco have much of the same side that were present at the 2018 World Cup, and many of those players have improved with four more years' experience at top clubs.
It has reflected in their positive performances and in particular the team's chemistry and ability to hold firm under pressure.
Stars
Their star players are undoubtedly the ones that play for some of the best clubs in the world, with PSG's Achraf Hakimi and Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech being the two most recognisable names in the squad but also living up to their billing and performing at a high level in the World Cup.
Ziyech scored the opening goal in the win over Canada that secured top spot in Group F, while Hakimi netted the winning penalty in the shootout against the country of his birth, and he oozed composure and confidence with a deft and cheeky panenka to get it done against Spain.
Achraf Hakimi, panenka to win the game! Incredible Hakimi, incredible Morocco, incredible atmosphere!! pic.twitter.com/PjtUVOkVgs
— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) December 6, 2022
Strengths
Their defence has been what has carried the Atlas Lions not only through qualifying, but also on their magical run to the semifinals, with just one goal conceded before the semifinals (and even that was a very unlucky own goal against Canada).
With Hakimi at right-back and Bayern Munich's Noussair Mazraoui on the other flank, they have also had amazing performances from goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who made two penalty saves in the shootout against Spain, as well as from centre-backs Romain Saiss and Nayef Aguerd. Injuries to Mazraoui, Saiss, and Aguerd were a factor in Morocco's semifinal loss to France.
Sofyan Amrabat has also been a revelation in midfield, with his performances to keep the side ticking in the middle of the park earning lavish praise from fans and pundits.
Weaknesses
There are few weaknesses in the side, which reflects why they have been able to achieve so much in Qatar. Harit's injury has deprived them of real quality and also depth on the wing, though Sofiane Boufal has done very well in his place.
They will also be concerned about their depth at striker: whilst Youssef En-Nesyri is a strong option and at a very good Spanish side in Sevilla, the drop off between him and the back-up options is noticeable. In these crucial knockout games where you need more than just the 11 players on the pitch to shine, could this be the one thing that could go against the Atlas Lions?
They do share the goals around, with no one with multiple strikes so far, but they may need one of their key attackers to step up and take games by the scruff of the neck if they are to prolong their fairy-tale run.
Morocco fixtures and match schedule
| Date | Match | Stadium |
| Wed, Nov. 23 | Morocco 0, Croatia 0 (Group F) | Al Bayt |
| Sun, Nov. 27 | Belgium 0, Morocco 2 (Group F) | Al Thumama |
| Thurs, Dec. 1 | Canada 1, Morocco 2 (Group F) | Al Thumama |
| Tue, Dec. 6 | Morocco 0, Spain 0 (Rd. of 16) (3-0 on penalties) | Education City |
| Sat, Dec. 10 | Morocco 1, Portugal 0 (Quarterfinal) | Al Thumama |
| Sat, Dec. 10 | France 2, Morocco 0 (Semifinal) | Al Thumama |
| Sat, Dec. 17 | Morocco vs Croatia (Third-Place) | Khalifa Int'l |