Walid Regragui signed off from the World Cup with a mission statement for the future. A pragmatist tactically but a dreamer when he spoke, the first manager to take an African country to a World Cup semi-final seemed to specialise in inspirational oratory
As Morocco’s 2022 campaign ended in fourth place, their manager said: “We want to give our children the footballing DNA and one day we will be able to win the World Cup. You build that DNA gradually so that one day a team that can achieve the dream of all Africans. Morocco has shown African teams can go toe to toe.”
At the time, it was tempting to wonder if Morocco’s surge had been a stirring one-off. They had got past Belgium and Croatia, Spain and Portugal; equally, they had only scored two goals in their last four games in Qatar. Wonderfully as they defended, they benefited from others’ attacking failures
Four years on, an answer of sorts has been supplied. Morocco are through to the last 16 after defeating Netherlands on penalties. They are ranked sixth by Fifa and if Scotland manager Steve Clarke may have mentioned Morocco’s lofty standing too often, it is an indication their prowess in 2022 was no fluke
There is the chance they become the first African team to produce a series of challenges over at least three World Cups. They will be co-hosts in 2030, with the possible benefits that brings. The sense Morocco are a growing power on and off the field is reflected by the way they treated as an irrelevant afterthought whenever they bid for the World Cup in the past. Now they want to stage the 2030 final
There could be a contrast with the past in another respect. There were three previous African quarter-finalists. Two – Cameroon in 1990 and Ghana in 2010 – finished bottom of their group four years later. The other, Senegal in 2002, did not even qualify for the next tournament. Success felt more fleeting. Nothing was sustained
That Morocco exude strength again reflects a broader improvement. A semi-final team could have been kept together, preserved because of past glories. Yet the blueprint has been amended, the personnel changed. Regragui was transformative but is gone, stepping down despite winning – and also losing – the African Cup of Nations final, amid pressure. Morocco appointed a more progressive manager, Mohamed Ouahbi, and his team did go toe to toe with Brazil
Regragui’s team have been broken up. Many of the talismanic figures of 2022 are nowhere to be seen. Hakim Ziyech and Sofiane Boufal have not played for Morocco since 2024, Romain Saiss retired from international football in February, Nayef Aguerd is injured, Sofyan Amrabat is in the United States but was an unused substitute against Brazil and Scotland. Perhaps most startlingly, Youssef En-Nesyri, who led the line so well in Qatar, was omitted from the squad. Only four of their strongest side then – Yassine Bounou, Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui and Azzedine Ounahi – may have the same status now.
The succession plan owes something to their opponents in Houston. In the diaspora World Cup, there may be something fitting as Morocco knocked out the Dutch. Mazraoui and Amrabat were born in the Netherlands, Ismael Saibari has spent his whole professional career there
Morocco have continued to benefit from European academies, from those whose parents – in many cases – left North Africa. They have shown an enduring ability to persuade those with Moroccan blood to sign up for their cause, perhaps with the carrot they can travel deep into a World Cup
Some of their side represented France or Belgium at lower levels. Brahim Diaz even made a senior appearance for Spain. But given the way many a European country has drawn on those with African roots to flourish at World Cups, it may be appropriate if there was a role reversal
Morocco could field a fine team simply with those born outside their borders: Bounou in Canada, Hakimi, Chadi Riad and Diaz all in Spain, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Neil El Aynouai and Issa Diop all in France, Chemsdine Talbi and Bilal Al Khannouss both in Belgium, along with the manager Ouahbi, Mazraoui and Amrabat in the Netherlands
Crucially, too, there is world-class talent: partly in the captain Hakimi but also in two of the tournaments breakout starts, the Lille midfielder Bouaddi, attracting interest from a host of European giants, including Arsenal, plus PSV forward Saibari, with Bayern Munich set to land the 25-year-old
Maybe when Morocco reached the 2022 semi-final, it was with something of an inferiority complex. They had 23 percent of possession against Spain, 27 against Portugal. With a more ambitious approach, they had 49 against Brazil, made a flying start and recorded a better xG. It was another indication that they could be a force for the foreseeable future
Now Canada represent the obstacle in the way of a second successive quarter-final. It would be another landmark feat. “It is a big message to the world,” Regragui said after eliminating Portugal four years ago. “Now we are in history books.” They might need rewriting again. The DNA of Moroccan football may be changing
