Morocco at the 2026 World Cup

Morocco's 2022 World Cup was the most significant tournament run by any African nation in history. Semi-finalists in Qatar, knocking out Belgium, Spain (on penalties) and Portugal along the way before falling 2-0 to France, Morocco became the first African side ever to reach the final four. The squad that did it — Achraf Hakimi, Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri, Sofyan Amrabat, Yassine Bounou in goal — returns almost entirely intact. Coach Walid Regragui, the genius of 2022 who turned Morocco into a counter-attacking machine, is still in charge.

2026 will be different. Morocco no longer enter as dark horses; they enter as one of the most respected squads in the tournament. The ELO (1812) is CAF's highest and in the top 12 worldwide. FIFA ranking #12. AFCON 2024 saw them finish third. The 2025 African qualifying campaign was dominant — seven wins, two draws, no losses. Regragui has added generational depth: Brahim Díaz (Real Madrid) switched international allegiance from Spain to Morocco; Bilal El Khannouss (Leicester) is the midfield future; Eliesse Ben Seghir (Monaco) is the emerging creative talent.

Group C is the group of death. Brazil is the headline rematch — Morocco beat Brazil 2-1 in a 2023 friendly in Tangier, a result that still reverberates. Scotland brings Premier League-hardened physicality. Haiti is the group's breathing room. Finishing second in Group C, which sends Morocco into a difficult Round of 32 bracket, is the realistic expectation. First place is genuinely achievable.

The Moroccan diaspora is a tournament story of its own. Hundreds of thousands of Moroccan fans traveled to Qatar 2022, filling stadiums with the loudest away support in tournament history. North America will see a similar phenomenon — the Moroccan community in France, Belgium, Netherlands and Canada is massive, and 2026 will feel like a home tournament for the Atlas Lions everywhere they play.

Regragui plays a disciplined 4-1-4-1 that becomes a 5-4-1 against top opposition. The back five — with Hakimi as a wing-back bombing forward — is the most physically resilient in the tournament. Amrabat protects the center-backs with extraordinary ground coverage. Ounahi and El Khannouss provide midfield craft. Hakim Ziyech (now 32 and at Al-Duhail) remains the creative X-factor when Regragui deploys him from the right. En-Nesyri leads the line as a target man. Strengths: arguably the best defensive organization in the tournament, elite knockout mentality (five of six Qatar knockout matches went to the final minute), and a coach with proven tournament-closing ability. Weaknesses: goal-scoring depth — Morocco struggled to create high-quality chances in qualifying — and Ziyech's age means the creative burden falls on less proven options. Penalty-shootout form is mixed.