Ahead of Morocco vs Canada at the World Cup, comparisons arise with the 2022 team
Despite the ups and downs between the two World Cups, Morocco have once again risen as the top Arab and African team. Morocco’s historic run
Despite the ups and downs between the two World Cups, Morocco have once again risen as the top Arab and African team. Morocco’s historic run at the Qatar World Cup 2022 is remembered by some poignant, powerful and indelible images from their quarterfinal win over Portugal: a towering header – the match-winning goal by Youssef En-Nesyri – against Cristiano Ronaldo’s side, Hakim Ziyech’s mazy dribbles that put the 2016 European champions in a spin, and Soufiane Boufal’s dance with his mother on the pitch in the heartwarming post-match celebrations. Four years on, none of those players have made the trip to the World Cup in North America. In fact, the only holdovers from that memorable tournament are Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui, Azzedine Ounahi, Bilal El-Khanouss and the goalkeepers. The then-celebrated manager, Walid Regragui, has been cast aside, too. Despite the radical changes, Morocco are yet to lose a match and have advanced to the Round of 16 after dispatching the Netherlands in a nervy penalty shootout on Monday. Comparisons between the classes of 2022 and 2026 were inevitable. They began at the end of the group stage, when it was pointed out that the Moroccan team of four years ago topped their group while this one failed to beat Haiti and Scotland by big enough margins to leapfrog Brazil in Group C. In order to truly impress the critics, the current generation may need to match or improve the semifinal run of 2022. Morocco of 2022: Experience and defensive tactics In 2022, the tactical plan was simple yet effective. Head coach Regragui was an emergency appointment following Bosnian manager Vahid Halilhodzic falling out with several players. Regragui had less than three months before the start of the World Cup to select his players and implement a tactical plan. Realising that time was not on his side, he kept things simple. “Regragui’s team was more defensive,” Mohammad Alrfae, an analyst for Jordanian Premier League side Al Ahli SC, told Al Jazeera. “He had older, more experienced players from big European sides at his disposal.” In spite of their technical ability, the team showed no interest in dominating possession under Regragui during Qatar 2022. In fact, their highest possession percentage came in the only match they lost – against France in the semifinal.
Morocco, under Regragui, were not as negative as some other sides employing the same tactics. They set their backline midway between their goal and midfield, as opposed to clustering deep in what is referred to as a low block but ceded possession in order to lure the opposition into their traps. En-Nesyri, the striker of the 2022 team won plaudits for his relentless work rate in preventing the opposition centre-backs from making easy passes to the midfield and forcing opposing teams into wide areas. Wider areas of the pitch were packed with standout players. The full-backs, who are still part of the 2026 team, Noussair Mazraoui and Hakimi teamed up with wingers and aimed to win the ball and launch dangerous counter-attacks. So effective were Morocco in blocking service to the middle areas of the pitch that opponents – particularly Portugal in the 1-0 quarterfinal loss – dropped deep to receive the ball, inhibiting their ability to attack. But what happened when Morocco faced lower-ranked teams? At two successive Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments, Morocco failed to lift the trophy, with an exit in the Round of 16 (2023) and a 1-0 loss in the 2025 edition, which they hosted. The final was a particularly testy affair, with Senegal seeing a goal ruled out in the dying moments of the match before Morocco were awarded a penalty. Incensed, the Senegalese marched off the pitch. Although Morocco missed the penalty and lost the match 1-0, they were declared AFCON champions after the on-field result was declared void and Morocco were handed a 3-0 forfeit by CAF. The result was later reversed and Morocco were declared champions under contentious circumstances. To make matters worse, Morocco faced a tournament-long allegation that the referees favoured Morocco. The hosts did not help their cause by requesting and receiving a change of referee before their quarterfinal encounter against Cameroon. Morocco of 2026: Faith in youth and offence Despite the controversial AFCON win, pressure kept mounting on Regragui with fans comparing the senior team with younger, more successful Moroccan sides. Under the junior team manager Tarek Sektioui, Morocco bagged a bronze-medal finish at the Paris Olympics 2024, as well as lifting the winners’ trophies at the African Nations Championship 2024 and the FIFA Arab Cup 2025 with completely different squads.
The BriefWire