Morocco national football team

Morocco

Nickname(s)	The Atlas Lions
Association	Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	UNAF (North Africa)
Head coach	Vahid Halilhodžić
Captain	Romain Saïss
Most caps	Noureddine Naybet (115)[1]
Top scorer	Ahmed Faras (36)[1]
Home stadium	Various
FIFA code	MAR
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	28 (23 December 2021)[2]
Highest	10 (April 1998 [3])
Lowest	95 (September 2010)
First international
Morocco 3–3 Iraq  (Beirut, Lebanon; 19 October 1957)
Biggest win
Morocco 13–1 Saudi Arabia  (Casablanca, Morocco; 6 September 1961)
Biggest defeat
Hungary 6–0 Morocco  (Tokyo, Japan; 11 October 1964)
World Cup
Appearances	5 (first in 1970)
Best result	Round of 16 (1986)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	18 (first in 1972)
Best result	Champions (1976)
Arab Cup
Appearances	4 (first in 1998)
Best result	Champions (2012)
African Nations Championship
Appearances	4 (first in 2014)
Best result	Champions (2018, 2020)
Medal record Men's Football Mediterranean Games 1983 Casablanca 2013 Mersin 1991 Athens 2018 Tarragona Pan Arab Games 1961 Casablanca 1976 Damascus 1985 Rabat Islamic Solidarity Games 2013 Indonesia 2005 Saudi Arabia

The Morocco national football team (Arabic: منتخب المغرب لكرة القدم, Berber: ⵜⴰⵔⴰⴱⴱⵓⵓⵜ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵓⵔ ⵏ ⵍⵎⵖⵔⵉⴱ), nicknamed "the Atlas Lions", represents Morocco in men's international football competitions. It is controlled by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, also known as FRMF. The team's colours are red and green. The team is a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Internationally, Morocco won the African Nations Cup in 1976 and have participated in the FIFA World Cup five times. Their best result came in 1986, when they were the first and the only African national team to finish top of a group at the FIFA World Cup. In that 1986 FIFA World Cup Group F, Morocco finished ahead of England, Portugal and Poland after holding both Poland and England to goalless draws, and beating Portugal 3–1. Thus they became the first African and first Arab national football team, and only the second national football teams from outside Europe and the Americas (after North Korea in 1966 World Cup), to reach the second round at the World Cup. In the subsequent round of 16 knockout, they narrowly lost to eventual runners-up West Germany 1–0.

The Atlas Lions were considered the best African national football team when they ranked 10th in the FIFA World Rankings in April 1998, as the first African national team in history to be ranked by FIFA in the top ten national football teams in the World. They are also the only African national team in history to have been at the top of the FIFA World Rankings for three consecutive years, by FIFA from 1997 to 1999.

History[]

Pre-independence period[]

The Moroccan national team was founded in 1928 and played its first game on 22 December of that year against the B team of France, to whom it lost 2–1. This team, formed by the best footballers of the LMFA or the Moroccan Football League (settlers or natives), was active in friendly matches against other North African teams such as those of Algeria and Tunisia. These associations of settler clubs and local footballers, in addition to having their own championship, clashed with each other in a tournament that Morocco won several times, such as in 1948–1949.

The LMFA also faced some club teams such as NK Lokomotiva Zagreb in January 1950, as well as France A and France B. Against France A the LMFA made a 1–1 draw in Casablanca in 1941.

On 9 September 1954, an earthquake struck the Algerian region of Orléansville (now Chlef) and caused the destruction of the city and the death of over 1,400 people. On 7 October 1954, the French Football Association and the Maghreb inhabitants organized a charity match to raise funds for the families of the victims of the catastrophic event. In the match, held at the Parc de Princes in Paris, a team made up of Moroccans, Algerians and Tunisians played against the national team of France. Led by star Larbi Benbarek, the Maghreb selection managed to win 3–2, a month before the Toussaint Rouge attacks by the Algerian National Liberation Front which marked the beginning of the Algerian War.

The beginnings of Morocco (1955–1963)[]

In 1955, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation was established, at the end of the French protectorate of Morocco, which had lasted since 1912.

On 19 October 1957, at the 2nd edition of the Pan Arab Games in Lebanon, Morocco made its debut as an independent country against Iraq, at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, and drew 3–3. At the tournament, Morocco took the first win in its history against Libya, winning 5–1, then beat Tunisia 3–1 to reach the semi-finals. After a 1–1 draw with Syria, lots were drawn to decide who would progress to the final, and Syria were selected at Morocco's expense. Morocco withdrew from the third-place play-off against Lebanon and finished fourth overall.

Between 1957 and 1958, Morocco held numerous friendly matches against the National Liberation Front team, the representative of Algeria before its independence in 1958. In 1959, the team took part for the first time in an international competition, the qualifying rounds of the 1960 Rome Olympics. Drawn into a group with Tunisia and Malta, Morocco finished second on goal difference and failed to progress. That same year, the football federation of Morocco joined FIFA.

In 1960, Morocco competed in World Cup qualification for the first time. Drawn against Tunisia in the first round, Morocco won the first leg 2–1, while Tunisia won the second leg 2–1. A play-off held in Palermo, Italy also finished in a tie, so a coin toss was used to determine who progressed. Morocco won the toss, and beat Ghana 1–0 on aggregate to reach the inter-continental play-offs. Drawn against Spain, Morocco lost 4–2 on aggregate and thus failed to qualify.

In 1961, Morocco held the Pan-Arab Games and won the football tournament, winning all five of their matches. Their third match, against Saudi Arabia, resulted in Morocco's biggest-ever victory, winning 13–1. They also claimed their first two wins against a European team, beating East Germany 2–1 and 2–0.

In 1963, the Moroccan team came close to qualifying for the African Cup of Nations. In the decisive play-off against Tunisia, they were defeated 4–1 in Tunis and won 4–2 at home, they were therefore eliminated. At the Mediterranean Games in Naples 1963, they finished fourth after a 2–1 defeat in the final for third place against Spain's reserve team.

First appearances in international competitions (1963–1976)[]

Morocco participated for the first time in the final phase of an international competition at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Having qualified under the leadership of manager Mohamed Massoun, the Moroccans were included in a group of three teams due to the renunciation of North Korea. Morocco lost both their matches, against Hungary (6–0, the team's worst-ever defeat) and Yugoslavia (3–1, despite taking the lead in the second minute via Ali Bouachra).

In 1966, the Moroccan Football Association joined the Confederation of African Football and was able to participate in the competitions organized by the CAF.

At the 1967 Mediterranean Games in Tunis, the Moroccans were eliminated in the first round, finishing fourth in a group containing Italy, France, and Algeria.

During qualifying for the 1968 Olympics, Morocco refused to play against Israel, and were eventually replaced by Ghana.

In the two-year period 1968–1969, the team was engaged in qualifying for the Mexican World Championship in 1970. Their debut was positive, they eliminated Senegal (1–0) and Tunisia after a draw, which at the time was necessary after three draws (of which last in Marseille, by 2–2). In the final round of the preliminaries, against Sudan and Nigeria, Morocco obtained five points, finishing ahead of Nigeria and qualifying for the first time for the final round of a world championship. Shortly after, Morocco lost the decisive play-off against Algeria to enter the final stage of the 1970 Africa Cup of Nations.

Morocco thus became the first African national team to qualify for a world championship after having played in an elimination tournament (at 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy, Egypt was the first African national team to take part in the World Cup, but without having played the qualifications before). The Moroccan team, coached by the Yugoslav Blagoje Vidinić, consisted exclusively of players in the Moroccan league, including Driss Bamous and Ahmed Faras.

On 3 June 1970, against West Germany in front of 12,942 spectators, Morocco surprisingly opened the scoring with a goal in the twenty-first game of Houmane Jarir. In the second half, however, the West Germans scored with Uwe Seeler and Gerd Müller and won by 2–1. The Lions of the Atlas then played against Peru in front of 13,537 spectators. This time the Moroccans conceded three goals in ten minutes to lose 3–0. On 11 June 1970, the eliminated Moroccans drew with Bulgaria 1–1, with a comeback goal in the sixtieth game of Maouhoub Ghazouani. It was the first point obtained by an African national team at the World Cup.

In the 1972 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, the Lions of the Atlas ousted Algeria, then they faced Egypt, beating them 3–0 in the first leg and suffering a 3–2 defeat on the way back, yet they qualified for the first time for the final phase of the continental tournament. In the group stage, they had three 1–1 draws against Congo, Sudan and Zaire and were eliminated in the first round. All three Moroccan goals brought the signature of Ahmed Faras.

Qualifying for the 1972 Olympics with two wins and two draws, Morocco debuted in Group A with a white-neat draw 0–0 with the United States, then lost 3–0 against West Germany and defeated Malaysia 6–0 with an Ahmed Faras hat-trick, qualifying for the second round. Due to defeats against USSR (3–0), Denmark (3–1) and Poland (5–0), they were then eliminated.

In the 1974 world championship qualifiers, Morocco passed three CAF qualifying rounds, entering the final round with Zambia and Zaire. Badly beaten 4–0 at home by Zaire, who then won two consecutive matches against Zambia, the Moroccans went to Zaire for the return match and lost there 3–0, conceding three goals in the second half, after Faras leaving the field due to injury. Morocco filed an appeal, trying to get the match to play again, and did not appear at the final challenge against Zambia. Protesting against FIFA in protest, he also decided not to take part in the 1974 Africa Cup of Nations.

In 1974, Morocco played only two games, both against Algeria, achieving a 2–0 win and a 0–0 draw. After 1974, Morocco resumed its regular FIFA and CAF competitions. They managed to get the qualification for the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations by eliminating Ghana at the last round, but failed to qualify for the 1976 Olympics, as eliminated by Nigeria.

Between successes and defeats (1976–1986)[]

Morocco, coached by the Romanian Virgil Mărdărescu and captained by Ahmed Faras, took the continental throne, finishing in first place the final round of the 1976 African Cup of Nations, in his second participation in the final phase of the competition.

The final phase, in Ethiopia, foresaw a novelty, the first two classified of each of the two groups of four teams would have met in a final round from four teams, contending the title of Champion of Africa. The elimination rounds were cancelled, and replaced by a mini-championship. On 29 February 1976, the tournament started with the first matches of group A, but Morocco, entered in group B, started on 1 March 1976. Inserted in a group with Sudan, Zaire and Nigeria, Mărdărescu's team equalized 2–2 with Sudan Chérif Fetoui's Moroccan goals on the 5th and Ahmed Abouali on the 58th minute), then, thanks to Abdel Ali Zahraoui's goal on the eightieth minute of play, they beat Zaire. In the last game they won a comeback 3–1 against Nigeria (Nigerian goal on the 5th with a penalty and Moroccan trio with Ahmed Faras on the 8th, Abdallah Tazi on 19th and Larbi Chebbak on the 81st), obtaining so the first place in the group and qualifying for the final round (a group stage of four teams) together with the Nigerians, second in the standings in the group B. The final round put Morocco against Egypt. The Moroccans, had an advantage with a goal by Faras, suffered a draw, but took the lead two minutes before the end of the match again with Zahraoui and won 2–1. The next match against the Nigerians ended with a success, thanks to two goals from Ahmed Faras and Redouane El Guezzar scored in the last eight minutes of play to overturn the provisional opponent advantage (2–1). The final match, against Guinea, would have decided the African Champion team. On 14 March 1976, in Addis Ababa, the Guineans, aimed to victory, took the lead in the first half, but four minutes to the end of the match Ahmed Makrouh scored the goal of the final draw (1–1), which gave to Morocco the first cup of its history.

Morocco then failed to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, the 1978 FIFA World Cup and the 1982 FIFA World Cup. At the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations, they were eliminated in the first round, while at the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations they won the third place, beating in the consolation final Egypt 2–0. They then won the 1983 Mediterranean Games, played at home, thanks to a 3–0 success in the final against Turkey B.

Morocco did not qualify for either the 1982 Africa Cup of Nations or that of 1984 Africa Cup of Nations. At the 1986 Africa Cup of Nations, they finished fourth, beaten 3–2 in the consolation final by the Ivory Coast (Moroccan goals by Abdelfettah Rhiati and Mohammed Sahil).

Golden Generation (1986–2000)[]

The subsequent participation in the 1986 FIFA World Cup which took place in Mexico. Morocco, coached by the Brazilian José Faria, had a valid team at their disposal, with Aziz Bouderbala, Salahdine Hmied, Merry Krimau and Mohamed Timoumi.

In Mexico, Morocco surprisingly won a group with Portugal, England and Poland, thanks to two draws against the English and Polish teams and a 3–1 win against the Portuguese (Abderrazak Khairi scored twice and goals from Abdelkrim Merry Krimau). However, they were narrowly eliminated by West Germany in the first knockout round, thanks to a goal from Lothar Matthäus one minute from the end of regulation time. Morocco became the first African and Arab national team to have passed the first round of a world championship.

Two years later, the Moroccan team presented itself at the 1988 African Cup of Nations as a host country with high expectations. After winning the first round, they were eliminated in the semifinals by Cameroon and finished in fourth place after losing the consolation final against Algeria (1–1 after extra time and 4–3 after the penalty shots).

Failure to qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup opened a period of crisis. In the 1992 African Cup of Nations, the team was eliminated in the first round. They did not participate, then, either in the 1994 Africa Cup or in the 1996 African Cup.

At the end of the millennium, the North African team took part in two consecutive world championships: in the United States in 1994 and in France in 1998. On both occasions they were eliminated in the first round, although in the second case it came close to qualifying.

In 1994, Morocco were knocked out after three defeats against Belgium (1–0), Saudi Arabia (2–1, Moroccan goal of Mohammed Chaouch) and Netherlands (2–1, Moroccan goal of Hassan Nader), while in 1998 they left in a controversial way. Having drawn in the first match with Norway 2–2 (goals from star Mustapha Hadji and Abdeljalil Hadda) and lost 3–0 against Brazil, Morocco coached by the French Henri Michel clearly beat (3–0) the Scotland (goal by Abdeljalil Hadda and two goals by Salaheddine Bassir) in Saint-Étienne, but by the time the qualifying seemed to have been achieved, they were overtaken in the standings by Norway, who was incredibly strong on Brazil (2–1) scoring the decisive goal in the last minutes of the game, thanks to a much discussed penalty.

At the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations, after winning their group, Morocco were defeated and eliminated from South Africa (2–1). They failed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Difficult years (2006–2016)[]

The Local Atlas Lions were eliminated in the qualifiers for the first two editions of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in 2009 and 2011, before qualifying for the first time to the CHAN in the 2014 edition, which was hosted in South Africa instead of Libya, who were initially supposed to organize the only continental national competition for local players.

During their first participation in the competition, the Moroccans, led by coach Hassan Benaabicha (who, in replacement of Rachid Taoussi, was asked to manage the team just a few days before the start of the final tournament), did not make it past the second round. Rachid Taoussi had been behind the qualification of the Moroccans to the competition, but did not have the chance to go further than that, as he was replaced by Benaabicha, who had done well in various regional and international competitions at the time with other lower categories Moroccan national teams.

The first two matches for the Moroccans in the tournament were 0–0 and 1–1 draws against Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, respectively. It was only after the third match that the Local Atlas Lions could ensure qualification to the second round, after beating Uganda 3–1. In the quarter-finals, Morocco were beaten surprisingly by Nigeria 3–4, after leading 3–0 in the first half^[5].

In 2016, it was another Moroccan coach, with the famous name of Mohamed “El General” Fakhir, who led the Moroccans to qualification for the second consecutive time at the CHAN, which was organized in Rwanda. However, this was even worse than their previous tournament run, with the Atlas Lions eliminated in the first round after finishing third in their group.

The team's final match, an astonishing 4–1 win against host country Rwanda, could not prevent the Moroccans' elimination; they had already suffered a scoreless draw against Gabon and a 0–1 defeat against the Ivory Coast in their first two matches.

In 2012, the national team won the 2012 Arab Cup, a tournament reserved for Arab national teams with a team made up only of players playing in the Moroccan championship after defeating Libya in the final by penalties; Yassine Salhi was the top scorer and named best player of the tournament.

Ascent (2016–Present)[]

2018 African Nations Championship[]

Moroccan fans could enjoy not only the hosting of the CHAN in the kingdom two years later in 2018, but also a tournament victory for their local national team, which became the third North African country to win the competition’s title, after Tunisia, winners in 2011, and Libya in 2014.

The road was not easy for Moroccan players, who were coached by Jamal Sellami in 2018, as they had to face strong, experienced African National teams, especially in the semi-final and final matches.

In the group phase, the path was easier, with a 4–0 victory against Mauritania followed by a second 3–1 win against Guinea, before a scoreless draw against Sudan in the final group match. The Local Atlas Lions finished top of their group with 7 points out of 9 to advance to the quarter-finals, where they beat Namibia 2–0 in Casablanca.

On 31 January 2018, Al Mountakhab made history, as they qualified for the final match of the CHAN for the first time in their history after beating 2014 title winners Libya 3–1 at the Mohamed V stadium in Casablanca.

The final match was a flurry of Moroccan goals. Four in total were scored, by Zakaria Hadraf in both the 44th and 61st minutes, Walid El Karti in the 64th minute, as well as Ayoub El Kaabi (top scorer of the competition) in the 73rd minute, to win a first CHAN title for the kingdom^[6]. Ayoub El Kaabi later went on to be named Total man of the tournament^[7].

2018 Fifa World Cup[]

Back to participate in the final phase of a World Cup after 20 years, in 2018 FIFA World Cup, Morocco went out in the first round, after two 0–1 defeats against Iran and Portugal. In the last match against Spain they took the lead 2–1 but was unable to keep it, and drew 2–2, ultimately managed to eliminate Iran as well^[8].

2019 Africa Cup of Nations[]

Morocco entered the 2019 AFCON with high confidence, having played the previous World Cup. However, in spite of three straight group stage wins, Morocco was shockingly knocked out by less known Benin in the round of sixteen.

2020 African Nations Championship[]

On 19 October 2019, Morocco qualified for the fourth straight time to the African Nations Championship and would take part in the 2020 African Nations Championship after defeating Algeria 3-0 Stade Municipal de Berkane.The tournament was set to be held in Cameroon from 16 January to 7 February 2021. Morocco was to face Rwanda, Togo and Uganda in the group stage. Morocco won its first match against Togo, Thanks to Yahya Jabrane after scoring a penalty in the 27th minute^[9]. Morocco tied in its second game against Rwanda. morocco's final group stage game would decide who would top the table; Morocco won 5-2 against Uganda.

Morocco defeated Zambia 3-1 in the Quarter-finals therefore qualifying to the semi-finals to face Cameroon^[10]. soon later they would trash Cameroon by scoring a total of 4 goals^[11].

In February 2021, Morocco won their second title after a 2–0 win over Mali in the final in Cameroon^[12]. Scored by the moroccan defender Soufiane Bouftini and Ayoub El Kaabi. Soufiane Rahimi later went on to be named Total man of the tournament after an astonishing performance scoring a total of 5 goals^[13].

Home stadium[]

Morocco traditionally play their home games at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat and the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca as the main stadiums during their World Cup qualifiers, but they have recently used the new stadiums Stade de Marrakech in Marrakech, also the Stade Adrar in Agadir, Stade Ibn Batouta in Tangier and Fez Stadium in Fez.

• 

  Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat

• 

  Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca

• 

  Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech

• 

  Stade Adrar, Agadir

• 

  Stade Ibn Batouta, Tangier

• 

  Fez Stadium, Fez

Results and fixtures[]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2021[]

2022[]

Players[]

Current squad[]

The following players were called up for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations from 9 January to 6 February 2022 in  Cameroon.^[14][15]
Caps and goals are correct as of 16 November 2021, after the match against Guinea.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
12	1GK	Munir Mohamedi	(1989-05-10) 10 May 1989 (age 32)	41	0	Hatayspor
1	1GK	Yassine Bounou	(1991-04-05) 5 April 1991 (age 30)	35	0	Sevilla
22	1GK	Anas Zniti	(1988-10-28) 28 October 1988 (age 33)	3	0	Raja Casablanca
6	2DF	Romain Saïss (captain)	(1990-03-26) 26 March 1990 (age 31)	54	1	Wolverhampton Wanderers
2	2DF	Achraf Hakimi	(1998-11-04) 4 November 1998 (age 23)	41	5	Paris Saint-Germain
5	2DF	Nayef Aguerd	(1996-03-30) 30 March 1996 (age 25)	12	1	Rennes
3	2DF	Adam Masina	(1994-01-02) 2 January 1994 (age 27)	7	0	Watford
4	2DF	Samy Mmaee	(1996-09-08) 8 September 1996 (age 25)	5	0	Ferencváros
18	2DF	Sofian Chakla	(1993-09-02) 2 September 1993 (age 28)	3	0	OH Leuven
21	2DF	Souffian El Karouani	(2000-10-19) 19 October 2000 (age 21)	3	0	NEC
24	2DF	Sofiane Alakouch	(1998-07-29) 29 July 1998 (age 23)	2	0	Metz
	2DF	Badr Benoun	(1993-09-30) 30 September 1993 (age 28)	3	0	Al Ahly
	2DF	Mohamed Chibi	(1993-01-21) 21 January 1993 (age 28)	1	0	AS FAR
11	3MF	Fayçal Fajr	(1988-08-01) 1 August 1988 (age 33)	44	3	Sivasspor
20	3MF	Sofyan Amrabat	(1996-08-21) 21 August 1996 (age 25)	27	0	Fiorentina
16	3MF	Aymen Barkok	(1998-05-21) 21 May 1998 (age 23)	14	1	Eintracht Frankfurt
15	3MF	Selim Amallah	(1996-11-15) 15 November 1996 (age 25)	12	3	Standard Liège
13	3MF	Ilias Chair	(1997-10-30) 30 October 1997 (age 24)	7	1	Queens Park Rangers
7	3MF	Imran Louza	(1999-05-01) 1 May 1999 (age 22)	5	2	Watford
8	3MF	Azzedine Ounahi	(2000-04-19) 19 April 2000 (age 21)	0	0	Angers
19	4FW	Youssef En-Nesyri	(1997-06-01) 1 June 1997 (age 24)	40	11	Sevilla
17	4FW	Sofiane Boufal	(1993-09-17) 17 September 1993 (age 28)	22	1	Angers
9	4FW	Ayoub El Kaabi	(1993-06-25) 25 June 1993 (age 28)	15	7	Hatayspor
10	4FW	Munir El Haddadi	(1995-09-01) 1 September 1995 (age 26)	8	2	Sevilla
23	4FW	Ryan Mmaee	(1997-11-01) 1 November 1997 (age 24)	7	4	Ferencvárosi
14	4FW	Zakaria Aboukhlal	(2000-02-18) 18 February 2000 (age 21)	5	1	AZ
25	4FW	Abdessamad Ezzalzouli	(2001-12-17) 17 December 2001 (age 20)	0	0	Barcelona
	4FW	Soufiane Rahimi	(1996-03-23) 23 March 1996 (age 25)	2	0	Al-Ain

Recent call-ups[]

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti	(1996-04-05) 5 April 1996 (age 25)	3	0	Wydad Casablanca	v.  Guinea, 16 November 2021
GK		(2004-02-21) 21 February 2004 (age 17)	0	0	Chelsea	v.  Guinea, 12 October 2021
DF	Jawad El Yamiq	(1992-02-29) 29 February 1992 (age 29)	10	2	Valladolid	v.  Guinea, 16 November 2021
DF	Ayoub El Amloud	(1994-04-08) 8 April 1994 (age 27)	1	0	Wydad Casablanca	v.  Guinea, 12 October 2021
DF	Achraf Lazaar	(1992-01-22) 22 January 1992 (age 29)	12	0	Portimonense	v.  Burkina Faso, 12 June 2021
DF	Zouhair Feddal	(1989-12-23) 23 December 1989 (age 32)	21	1	Sporting CP	v.  Burundi, 30 March 2021
DF	Issam Chebake	(1989-10-12) 12 October 1989 (age 32)	7	0	APOEL	v.  Burundi, 30 March 2021
DF	Nabil Dirar	(1986-02-25) 25 February 1986 (age 35)	42	3	Fenerbahçe	v.  Mauritania, 26 March 2021 WD
MF	Youssef Maleh	(1998-08-28) 28 August 1998 (age 23)	0	0	Fiorentina	v.  Guinea, 16 November 2021
MF	Abdou Harroui	(1998-01-13) 13 January 1998 (age 23)	0	0	Sassuolo	v.  Guinea, 12 October 2021
MF	Adel Taarabt	(1989-05-24) 24 May 1989 (age 32)	29	4	Benfica	v.  Sudan, 2 September 2021
MF	Yahya Jabrane	(1991-06-18) 18 June 1991 (age 30)	3	0	Wydad Casablanca	v.  Burkina Faso, 12 June 2021
MF	Oussama Tannane	(1994-03-23) 23 March 1994 (age 27)	11	2	Vitesse	v.  Burundi, 30 March 2021
FW	Achraf Bencharki	(1994-09-24) 24 September 1994 (age 27)	11	0	Zamalek	v.  Guinea, 16 November 2021
FW	Hakim Ziyech	(1993-03-19) 19 March 1993 (age 28)	40	17	Chelsea	v.  Burkina Faso, 12 June 2021
FW	Youssef El-Arabi	(1987-02-03) 3 February 1987 (age 34)	46	16	Olympiacos	v.  Burundi, 30 March 2021
DEC Player declined the call-up to the squad INJ Did not make it to the current squad due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby RET Player retired from internationals SUS Player is suspended WD Player withdrew from the roster for non-injury related reasons

Previous squads[]

Player records[]

As of 30 March 2021^[16]

Players in bold are still active with Morocco.

Most capped players[]

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Noureddine Naybet	115	4	1990–2006
2	Ahmed Faras	94	36	1966–1979
3	Youssef Safri	79	8	1999–2009
4	Houssine Kharja	78	12	2004–2015
	Ezzaki Badou	78	0	1979–1992
6	Abdelmajid Dolmy	76	2	1973–1988
7	Youssef Chippo	73	9	1996–2006
	Mohamed Hazzaz	73	0	1969–1979
9	Abdelkrim El Hadrioui	72	4	1992–2001
10	Mbark Boussoufa	70	8	2006–2019

Top goalscorers[]

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Average	Career
1	Ahmed Faras	36	94	0.38	1966–1979
2	Salaheddine Bassir	27	59	0.46	1994–2002
3	Abdeljalil Hadda	19	48	0.4	1995–2002
4	Hassan Amcharrat	18	39	0.46	1971–1979
	Marouane Chamakh	18	65	0.28	2003–2014
6	Abdeslam Laghrissi	17	35	0.49	1984–1995
	Hakim Ziyech	17	41	0.41	2015–present
8	Youssef El-Arabi	16	47	0.36	2010–present
	Youssouf Hadji	16	64	0.25	2003–2012
10	Aziz Bouderbala	14	57	0.25	1979–1992

Coaching staff[]

Position	Name
Head coach	Vahid Halilhodžić[17]
Assistant coach
Goalkeeping coach
Fitness coach
Video Analyst
Technical director

Coaches[]

Source:^[18]

Managers
Name	Nationality	Years as manager	Trophy won	World Cup	Africa Cup
Larbi Ben Barek		1957	-	-	-
Mohammed Khamirib & Abdelkader Lokhmiri		1959	-	-	-
Larbi Ben Barek		1960	-	-	-
Kader Firoud		1961	-	-	-
Mohammed Massoun & Abderrahmane Mahjoub		1961–1967	-	-	-
Guy Cluzeau & Abdellah Settati	&	1968–1969	-	-	-
Blagoja Vidinić		1970	-	1970 (GS)	-
José Barinaga		1971–1972	-	-	1972 (GS)
Abderrahmane Mahjoub		1972–1973	-	-	-
Virgil Mărdărescu		1974–1978	1976 African Cup of Nations	-	1976 (W) - 1978 (GS)
Guy Cluzeau		1979	-	-	-
Just Fontaine		1979–1980	-	-	-
Jebrane & Yabram Hamidouch		1980–1981	-	-	1980 (3RD)
Abdellah El-Ammari		1982	-	-	-
Jaime Valente		1983	-	-	-
Mehdi Faria		1983–1988	-	1986 (R16)	1986 (4TH) - 1988 (4TH)
Jaime Valente		1988–1989	-	-	-
Antonio Valentín		1989–1990	-	-	-
Abdellah Ajri Blinda		1990	-	-	-
Werner Olk		1990–1992	-	-	1992 (GS)
Abdellah Ajri Blinda		1993–1994	-	1994 (GN)	-
Mohammed Lamari		1994	-	-	-
Gílson Nunes		1995	-	-	-
Henri Michel		1995–2000	-	1998 (GS)	1998 (QF) - 2000 (GS)
Henryk Kasperczak		2000	-	-	-
Humberto Coelho		2000–2002	-	-	2002 (GS)
Badou Ezzaki		2002–2005	-	-	2004 (F)
Philippe Troussier		2005	-	-	-
Mohamed Fakhir		2006–2007	-	-	2006 (GS)
Henri Michel		2007–2008	-	-	2008 (GS)
Fathi Jamal		2008	-	-	-
Roger Lemerre		2008–2009	-	-	-
Hassan Moumen (caretaker)		2009–2010	-	-	-
Eric Gerets		2010–2012	-	-	2012 (GS)
Rachid Taoussi		2012–2013	-	-	2013 (GS)
Hassan Benabicha (caretaker)		2013–2014	-	-	-
Badou Ezzaki[19]		2014–2016	-	-	-
Hervé Renard[20]		2016–2019	-	2018 (GS)	2017 (QF) - 2019 (R16)
Vahid Halilhodžić[17]		2019–Present	-	-	-

Kit suppliers[]

Kit provider	Period
Adidas	1982–1993
Lotto	1994–1995
Umbro	1995
Lotto	1995–1997
Puma	1998–2002
Nike	2003–2006
Puma	2007–2011
Adidas	2012–2019
Puma	2019–

Head-to-head performance[]

Correct as 04 December 2021.

Team	Confederation	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win%	Loss%
Albania	UEFA	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%	0%
Algeria	CAF	36	17	12	7	48	26	+22	47.22%	19.44%
Angola	CAF	7	4	2	1	11	7	+4	57.14%	14.29%
Argentina	CONMEBOL	3	0	0	3	1	5	–4	0%	100%
Armenia	UEFA	1	1	0	0	6	0	+6	100%	0%
Australia	AFC	1	0	0	1	0	1	–1	0%	100%
Austria	UEFA	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100%	0%
Bahrain	AFC	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5	100%	0%
Belgium	UEFA	3	1	0	2	4	6	–2	33.33%	66.67%
Benin	CAF	6	5	1	0	20	3	+17	83.33%	0%
Botswana	CAF	2	2	0	0	2	0	+2	100%	0%
Brazil	CONMEBOL	2	0	0	2	0	5	–5	0%	100%
Bulgaria	UEFA	6	2	3	1	10	5	+5	33.33%	16.67%
Burkina Faso	CAF	11	7	2	2	16	6	+10	63.64%	18.18%
Burundi	CAF	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	100%	0%
Cameroon	CAF	13	2	5	6	10	12	–2	15.38%	46.15%
Canada	CONCACAF	4	2	1	1	9	7	+2	50%	25%
Cape Verde	CAF	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	66.67%	0%
Central African Republic	CAF	5	3	2	0	10	1	+9	60%	0%
Chile	CONMEBOL	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0%	0%
China PR	AFC	1	0	1	0	3	3	0	0%	0%
Colombia	CONMEBOL	1	0	0	1	0	2	–2	0%	100%
Comoros	CAF	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	50%	0%
Congo	CAF	5	3	2	0	6	2	+4	60%	0%
Croatia	UEFA	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	0%	0%
Czech Republic	UEFA	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%	0%
Denmark	UEFA	1	1	0	0	4	2	+2	100%	0%
DR Congo	CAF	3	1	1	1	4	2	+2	33.33%	33.33%
Egypt	CAF	29	14	12	3	34	16	18	48.28%	10.34%
England	UEFA	2	0	1	1	0	1	–1	0%	50%
Equatorial Guinea	CAF	5	4	0	1	10	2	+2	80%	20%
Estonia	UEFA	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100%	0%
Ethiopia	CAF	5	5	0	0	14	0	+14	100%	0%
Finland	UEFA	2	0	1	1	0	1	–1	0%	50%
France	UEFA	8	0	3	5	7	15	–8	0%	62.5%
Gabon	CAF	18	9	3	6	36	18	+18	50%	33.33%
Gambia	CAF	8	6	1	1	14	2	+12	75%	12.5%
Germany*	UEFA	4	0	0	4	3	12	–9	0%	100%
Ghana	CAF	10	4	3	3	7	8	–1	40%	30%
Greece	UEFA	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%	0%
Guinea	CAF	14	6	6	2	19	12	+7	42.86%	14.29%
Hong Kong	AFC	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%	0%
Hungary	UEFA	3	0	0	3	3	7	–4	0%	100%
India	AFC	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%	0%
Indonesia	AFC	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100%	0%
Iran	AFC	1	0	0	1	0	1	–1	0%	100%
Iraq	AFC	10	3	4	3	6	10	–4	30%	30%
Italy	UEFA	1	0	0	1	0	1	–1	0%	100%
Ivory Coast	CAF	21	7	7	7	27	25	+2	33.33%	33.33%
Jamaica	CONCACAF	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%	0%
Jordan	AFC	4	4	0	0	12	2	+10	100%	0%
Kenya	CAF	5	3	2	0	10	2	+8	60%	0%
Kuwait	AFC	6	3	2	1	14	9	+5	50%	16.67%
Lebanon	AFC	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	66.67%	33.33%
Liberia	CAF	3	2	0	1	9	3	+6	66.67%	33.33%
Libya	CAF	20	10	6	4	34	18	+16	50%	20%
Luxembourg	UEFA	3	3	0	0	6	1	+5	100%	0%
Malawi	CAF	10	6	3	1	15	3	+12	60%	10%
Malaysia	AFC	3	1	1	1	4	5	–1	33.33%	33.33%
Mali	CAF	20	9	6	5	33	12	+21	45%	25%
Malta	UEFA	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100%	0%
Mauritania	CAF	10	7	3	0	27	5	+22	70%	0%
Mexico	CONCACAF	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100%	0%
Mozambique	CAF	4	3	0	1	11	2	+9	75%	25%
Myanmar	AFC	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	0%	0%
Namibia	CAF	7	6	1	0	15	2	+13	85.71%	0%
Netherlands	UEFA	3	1	0	2	4	5	–1	33.33%	66.67%
New Zealand	OFC	2	2	0	0	6	0	+6	100%	0%
Niger	CAF	7	6	0	1	16	2	+14	85.71%	14.29%
Nigeria	CAF	11	6	2	3	14	8	+6	54.55%	27.27%
Northern Ireland	UEFA	2	0	1	1	2	3	–1	0%	50%
Norway	UEFA	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	0%	0%
Oman	AFC	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%	0%
Palestine	AFC	2	2	0	0	7	1	+5	100%	0%
Peru	CONMEBOL	1	0	0	1	0	3	–3	0%	100%
Poland	UEFA	5	1	2	2	3	9	–6	20%	40%
Portugal	UEFA	2	1	0	1	3	2	+1	50%	50%
Qatar	AFC	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	50%	0%
Republic of Ireland	UEFA	1	0	0	1	0	1	–1	0%	100%
Romania	UEFA	2	1	0	1	3	5	–2	50%	50%
Russia**	UEFA	4	0	1	3	3	7	–4	0%	75%
Rwanda	CAF	4	2	1	1	7	4	+3	50%	25%
São Tomé and Príncipe	CAF	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5	100%	0%
Saudi Arabia	AFC	6	1	2	3	15	7	+8	16.67%	50%
Scotland	UEFA	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100%	0%
Senegal	CAF	30	17	6	7	41	18	+23	56.67%	23.33%
Serbia***	UEFA	6	1	1	4	5	12	–7	16.67%	66.67%
Sierra Leone	CAF	7	6	1	0	14	0	+14	85.71%	0%
Singapore	AFC	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%	0%
Slovakia	UEFA	2	2	0	0	4	2	0	100%	0%
Somalia	CAF	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100%	0%
South Africa	CAF	7	1	3	3	6	9	–3	14.29%	42.86%
South Korea	AFC	6	1	4	1	10	9	+1	16.67%	16.67%
Spain	UEFA	4	0	1	3	5	8	–3	0%	75%
Sudan	CAF	7	3	4	0	9	3	0	42.86%	0%
Switzerland	UEFA	4	3	0	1	7	10	–3	75%	25%
Syria	AFC	3	3	0	0	6	0	+6	100%	0%
Tanzania	CAF	4	3	0	1	7	5	+2	75%	25%
Thailand	AFC	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100%	0%
Togo	CAF	12	6	3	3	22	11	+11	50%	25%
Trinidad and Tobago	CONCACAF	3	3	0	0	4	0	+4	100%	0%
Tunisia	CAF	50	13	28	9	53	46	+7	26%	18%
Uganda	CAF	3	1	0	2	5	6	–1	33.33%	66.67%
Ukraine	UEFA	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%	0%
United Arab Emirates	AFC	4	0	3	1	3	4	–1	0%	25%
Uruguay	CONMEBOL	2	0	0	2	0	2	–2	0%	100%
United States	CONCACAF	3	3	0	0	6	2	+2	100%	0%
Uzbekistan	AFC	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100%	0%
Yemen	AFC	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100%	0%
Zambia	CAF	18	10	2	6	23	18	+5	55.56%	33.33%
Zimbabwe	CAF	4	3	1	0	6	2	+4	75%	0%

(*) includes  West Germany
(**) includes  Soviet Union
(***) includes  Yugoslavia

Competitive record[]

FIFA World Cup[]

Morocco's national football team has participated five times in the FIFA World Cup. Their best performance was the 1986 edition when they advanced to the second round, being the first African nation to do so. In 1998, the team narrowly missed repeating the same achievement.

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Part of  France									Part of  France
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958	Did not enter									Did not enter
1962	Did not qualify									7	2	2	3	7	8
1966	Withdrew									Withdrew
1970	Group stage	14th	3	0	1	2	2	6		10	4	4	2	11	7
1974	Did not qualify									10	4	3	3	12	13
1978										2	0	2	0	2	2
1982										8	3	2	3	5	6
1986	Round of 16	11th	4	1	2	1	3	2		8	5	2	1	12	1
1990	Did not qualify									6	1	3	2	4	5
1994	Group stage	23rd	3	0	0	3	2	5		10	7	2	1	19	4
1998		18th	3	1	1	1	5	5		6	5	1	0	14	2
2002	Did not qualify									10	6	3	1	11	3
2006										10	5	5	0	17	7
2010										10	3	3	4	14	13
2014										6	2	3	1	9	8
2018	Group stage	27th	3	0	1	2	2	4		8	4	3	1	13	1
2022	To be determined
2026
Total	Round of 16	5/21	16	2	5	9	14	22		116	53	41	22	159	80

Africa Cup of Nations[]

Africa Cup of Nations record										Africa Cup of Nations qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1957	Not affiliated to CAF									Not affiliated to CAF
1959
1962	Withdrew									Withdrew
1963	Did not qualify									2	1	0	1	5	6
1965	Did not enter									Did not enter
1968
1970	Did not qualify									2	1	0	1	1	2
1972	Group stage	5th	3	0	3	0	3	3		4	2	0	2	9	6
1974	Did not enter									Did not enter
1976	Champions	1st	6	4	2	0	11	6		6	4	0	2	13	4
1978	Group stage	6th	3	1	1	1	2	4		Qualified as defending champions
1980	Third Place	3rd	5	2	1	2	4	3		4	2	1	1	14	5
1982	Did not qualify									4	3	0	1	8	4
1984										4	1	2	1	4	2
1986	Fourth Place	4th	5	1	2	2	4	5		2	1	1	0	1	0
1988	Fourth Place	4th	5	1	3	1	3	3		Qualified as hosts
1990	Did not qualify									2	0	2	0	1	1
1992	Group stage	9th	2	0	1	1	1	2		6	4	0	2	11	4
1994	Did not qualify									6	2	2	2	5	4
1996										4	1	1	2	2	4
1998	Quarter-finals	6th	4	2	1	1	6	3		6	4	2	0	10	1
2000	Group stage	11th	3	1	1	1	1	2		4	2	2	0	6	4
2002		9th	3	1	1	1	3	4		6	3	1	2	5	4
2004	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	1	14	4		6	5	1	0	10	0
2006	Group stage	13th	3	0	2	1	0	1		10	5	5	0	17	7
2008		11th	3	1	0	2	7	6		4	3	1	0	6	1
2010	Did not qualify									10	3	3	4	14	13
2012	Group stage	12th	3	1	0	2	4	5		6	3	2	1	8	2
2013		10th	3	0	3	0	3	3		2	1	0	1	4	2
2015	Disqualified									Originally qualified as hosts, then disqualified
2017	Quarter-finals	7th	4	2	0	2	4	3		6	5	1	0	10	1
2019	Round of 16	9th	4	3	1	0	4	1		6	3	2	1	8	3
2021	Qualified									6	4	2	0	10	1
2023	To be determined									To be determined
2025
Total	1 Title	18/33	65	24	23	18	74	58		118	63	31	24	182	81

Minor tournaments[]

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1964 Tripoli Fair Tournament	Third Place	3rd	4	2	0	2	5	5
1965 World Military Cup	Third Place	3rd	3	1	1	1	3	5
1965 Tripoli Fair Tournament	Third Place	3rd	3	1	1	1	2	1
1966 World Military Cup	Runner-up	2nd	3	0	1	2	1	4
1966 Tripoli Fair Tournament	Winner	1st	4	3	0	1	4	5
1967 World Military Cup	Third Place	3rd	-	-	-	-	-	-
1974 Kuneitra Cup	Winner	1st	7	6	1	0	16	5
1980 Merdeka Tournament	Winner	1st	8	5	2	1	15	7
1985 Nehru Cup	Semifinals	3rd	4	2	1	1	7	3
1987 President's Cup Football Tournament	Group stage	6th	5	2	0	3	6	6
1988 Tournoi de France	Runner-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	4	3
1989 World Military Cup	Runner-up	2nd	3	1	1	1	3	4
1993 World Military Cup	Runner-up	2nd	5	4	0	1	16	5
1994 Friendship Tournament	Runner-up	2nd	3	1	2	0	4	3
1996 Friendship Tournament	Runner-up	2nd	-	-	-	-	-	-
1996 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament	Third Place	3rd	2	1	1	0	4	2
1998 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament	Third Place	3rd	2	0	1	1	2	3
1999 LG Cup (Morocco)	Runner-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	2	2
2000 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament	Runner-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	2	5
2001 Friendship Tournament	Winner	1st	3	1	2	0	6	4
2002 LG Cup (Morocco)	Third Place	3rd	2	1	1	0	2	0
2002 LG Cup (Iran)	Third Place	3rd	2	0	2	0	1	1
2004 Qatar International Friendship Tournament	Winner	1st	5	4	0	1	9	4
2011 LG Cup (Morocco)	Third Place	3rd	2	0	1	1	1	2
Total	5 titles	24/24	76	38	18	20	115	79

Honours[]

Awards[]

African National Team of the Year

• First place : 1985, 1986, 1997
• Second place : 1993, 1998, 2003, 2004
• Third place : 1980
• 3rd FIFA Best Mover of the Year: 1993

See also[]

• Cultural significance of the Atlas lion
• Morocco A' national football team
• Morocco national under-23 football team
• Morocco national under-20 football team
• Morocco national under-17 football team
• Morocco women's national football team

Other football codes[]

• Morocco national futsal team
• Morocco national beach soccer team

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Morocco national football team.

• Official website of Morocco's FA
• FIFA profile
• RSSSF archive of results