Morocco had been eradicated from the 2026 World Cup by a 2-0 defeat by France within the quarterfinals, however host subsequent version.
Revealed On 10 Jul 2026
Morocco proved unable to emulate their semifinal heroics of the final World Cup, once more working right into a French roadblock as they misplaced within the final eight on Thursday, however as cohosts of the following match will start to reset their sights on the trophy.
That they had been crushed by France within the semifinal in Qatar 4 years in the past and this time had been once more outplayed within the 2-0 win for Les Bleus in Boston.
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Morocco’s performances on the expanded 48-team match, nonetheless, might be judged a hit, turning into the primary African nation to succeed in successive quarterfinals, eliminating the Netherlands and giving Brazil a scare of their opening sport of the finals in Canada, Mexico and the US.
There had been some doubts about how they may fare given a training change simply three months earlier than the finals, however Mohamed Ouahbi made a seamless transition into the senior coach function from the junior ranks after main Morocco to final yr’s U-20 World Cup title.
Morocco will now look to the following World Cup with particular consideration – they are going to be cohosting the 2030 finals with Portugal and Spain and are due to this fact already certified.
“We now have a younger crew who need to develop, who will proceed to take action. We now have proficient gamers who will allow us to develop,” Ouahbi mentioned after Thursday’s sport.
It might be regular to presume Morocco would follow their coach and provides him time to enhance his aspect, with successful the following World Cup as their goal.
However Ouahbi must negotiate two Africa Cup of Nations finals in 2027 and 2028 earlier than then and shall be solely too conscious of the tenuous nature of teaching in Africa, the place match failure invariably results in change.
His predecessor, Walid Regragui, was hounded out by Morocco followers after failing to win the Cup of Nations ultimate in opposition to Senegal in Morocco’s capital, Rabat, in January.
“We have to first qualify for the Cup of Nations and to win it. We have to take a step again and to see to it that we’ve a crew that may make and generate goals sooner or later. And win titles to make sure we’re heading in the right direction,” added Ouahbi.
Morocco has a poor document within the Cup of Nations, regardless of its prime rating on the continent. That they had gained a single African championship in 1976 earlier than being handed the 2025 title after Senegal had been stripped of the trophy for walking-off throughout the ultimate. That call is being appealed and could possibly be reversed.
Morocco will subsequent be in motion in September when the Cup of Nations qualifiers get underway. They’ve Gabon, Lesotho and Niger of their group, in what appears like a routine project.
But when they’ve any hope of 2030 World Cup success, they might want to have a harder weight loss plan of opponents to fine-tune their possibilities.
“In fact, the Cup of Nations is just not the World Cup. It is a completely different kind of competitors, with opponents which have completely different types of play,” the coach mentioned.
“So, while you’re not used to enjoying these kind of types, while you’re not ready for a World Cup, you may get eradicated in a short time.”
