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Arun - June 1, 2026
No team at this World Cup carries a more compelling recent story than Morocco. Four years ago they became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final, beating Spain, Portugal and Belgium along the way before losing to France. The Atlas Lions sent an entire continent into delirium and changed what African football believed was possible at the highest level.
Since then, they have maintained extraordinary consistency; losing just one of 32 matches between the start of 2025 and the tournament, winning the AFCON 2025 title, and arriving in North America ranked eighth in the world. On paper, they are the second-best team in Group C behind Brazil. In reality, they are one of the most dangerous sides at the entire tournament.
The major complication is the manager. Walid Regragui left his post in March 2026 just three months before the tournament began. Mohamed Ouahbi takes charge of his first senior tournament. Morocco are drawn in Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Brazil, Scotland and Haiti. For all our World Cup 2026 predictions and analysis visit LeagueLane.
“We have the quality. We have the experience. Now we have to show it again.” – Achraf Hakimi
Appearances: 7 | Best finish: 4th place (2022) | AFCON 2025 Champions
Moroccan · Appointed March 2026 · No previous senior management experience · 2025 U20 World Cup winner
Mohamed Ouahbi has the most remarkable entry point into senior international management of any coach at this tournament. Appointed on 5 March 2026, just three months before the World Cup began, he was handed the job after guiding Morocco’s Under-20 side to the 2025 U20 World Cup title, beating Argentina 2-0 in the final. That achievement is genuinely significant; it showed he can organize a team tactically and get the best out of talented young players under pressure.
His appointment is a bold choice and a risky one. He has worked at Anderlecht and in Moroccan youth football but has never managed senior players at this level before. His 4-3-3 system with high pressing, overlapping full-backs and Brahim Diaz operating as the creative engine is tactically coherent. The question is whether a squad that lost Regragui after years of building trust can transfer that identity quickly enough to a new manager they have only worked with for three months. Everything is on the line on June 13 against Brazil.
Formation: 4-3-3 (with 4-1-4-1 defensive variant)
Ouahbi uses a 4-3-3 with high pressing and aggressive overlapping full-backs. Sofyan Amrabat anchors the midfield base, providing defensive cover and winning the ball back quickly. Brahim Diaz and Bilal El Khannouss rotate in the half-spaces behind the striker, creating numerical superiority in the middle third.
Achraf Hakimi on the right is the tactical heartbeat of the entire attacking system. He pushes forward like a winger, combining with Diaz and the striker to create overloads on the right flank, then tracks back with elite defensive discipline. Everything Morocco do going forward flows through his side.
Morocco’s most dangerous moments come from transition; winning the ball high up the pitch and releasing Hakimi or Abde Ezzalzouli into space before the opposition can reorganize. Against Brazil, that counter-attacking threat is their most realistic route to a result. They are compact, disciplined and built to frustrate possession-based teams and punish them on the break.
Right back · Paris Saint-Germain · Age 27 | Morocco caps: 95 | Champions League winner
Morocco’s captain and their most important player by a significant margin. Hakimi at PSG won the Champions League this season and arrives ranked as the best right back in world football. With 95 caps he is the most experienced player in the squad, and his presence provides the leadership and quality that a squad under a new manager badly needs. His attacking contribution is extraordinary; he is not a right back who occasionally attacks, he is an attacker who occasionally defends, and Ouahbi’s system is designed to maximize that quality. On the biggest days, Hakimi delivers. He did it against Spain in 2022 with a famous panenka penalty. He will do it again here.
Attacking midfielder · Real Madrid · Age 26 | AFCON 2025 top scorer: 5 goals
The creative engine of Morocco’s attack and their most dangerous player in the final third. Born in Malaga to Moroccan parents, Diaz chose Morocco over Spain and has repaid that choice with some extraordinary performances in the Atlas Lions shirt. At AFCON 2025 he was the top scorer with five goals in five matches, becoming the first player in history to score in every group match and continue into the knockouts. With Hakim Ziyech absent from the squad, Diaz carries the entire creative burden. If Morocco are to cause an upset against Brazil or top the group, he is the player most likely to be at the heart of it.
Defensive midfielder · Fiorentina · Age 29 | 2022 World Cup all-tournament team
The defensive anchor and one of only nine players returning from the 2022 semi-final squad. Amrabat at Fiorentina is one of the most physical and aggressive midfielders in Serie A; he wins the ball, covers ground, and gives Morocco the defensive platform that allows Hakimi and Diaz to express themselves going forward. At the 2022 World Cup he was one of the tournament’s standout performers, named in the all-tournament team. He is the player who sets the defensive tone and gives Morocco the engine they need to make Ouahbi’s high-pressing system work.
Goalkeeper · Al-Hilal · Age 33 | Saved 2 penalties vs Spain in 2022 shootout
One of the 2022 World Cup’s great goalkeeping performances and Morocco’s most experienced defensive presence. Bounou saved two penalties against Spain in the quarter-final shootout, a moment that defined Morocco’s entire tournament and announced him as one of the world’s elite goalkeepers. At Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia he has maintained his form and sharpness and arrives as the undisputed number one. For a Morocco side that will defend deep against Brazil and rely on keeping clean sheets, Bounou’s shot-stopping ability and penalty expertise could again be decisive.
Morocco advance from Group C in second place. The squad quality, defensive solidity and individual brilliance of Hakimi and Diaz make them too good to go out at the group stage regardless of who is managing them. The new coach adjustment period is the only genuine concern, and it could cost them a point against Brazil on the opening day.
The betting angle is Morocco to draw with Brazil on June 13. The odds for a draw in that match will be generous, and Morocco’s counter-attacking profile is perfectly suited to frustrating a Brazil side under enormous pressure to perform. Hakimi at his best, Diaz creating from deep, and Bounou saving everything that comes his way; that is the formula for a point at MetLife Stadium.
The bigger question is whether Morocco can replicate their 2022 magic in the knockout rounds. Without Regragui, the tactical coherence that made them so difficult to beat may take time to fully re-establish. But the talent is there. And in tournament football, talent combined with the belief that comes from knowing you have done it before is a powerful combination.
Group C Team Profiles
Read our full team profiles for every side in Group C: Brazil · Scotland · Haiti.
Also read our World Cup 2026 Group C Preview and all our World Cup 2026 predictions and analysis on LeagueLane.
