Morocco at the World Cup 2026 | Squad, Fixtures & Odds

World Cup 2026 group and fixtures

Morocco landed in Group C at World Cup 2026 alongside Brazil, Scotland and Haiti. The MetLife Stadium opener against Brazil on 13 June is the headline test — Morocco beat the Seleção 2-1 in a Tangier friendly three years ago and have a defence that conceded zero in qualifying. Scotland in Foxborough and Haiti in Atlanta should produce the points needed to follow up the 2022 semi-final run with a second straight knockout appearance.

Morocco World Cup 2026 squad

The squad below reflects Mohamed Ouahbi’s first selection — the March 2026 friendlies against Ecuador and Paraguay. Notable inclusions: 19-year-old Bayern Munich left-back Adam Aznou, Crystal Palace centre-back Chadi Riad and Marseille midfielder Bilal Nadir. Hakim Ziyech returns after his AFCON omission. Final 26-man tournament squad to be confirmed in May 2026.

Goalkeepers (provisional, as of March 2026)

Defenders (provisional, as of March 2026)

Midfielders (provisional, as of March 2026)

Forwards (provisional, as of March 2026)

How Morocco will play

Ouahbi has kept Walid Regragui’s 4-3-3 base but pushed the press higher and given Brahim Diaz licence to drift between the lines as a free No 10. Amrabat screens the back four; Hakimi is the right-flank engine; Ezzalzouli stretches the play on the left. The shape is the same one that conceded zero across eight CAF qualifiers and reached the AFCON 2025 final on home soil.

The defining strength is the defensive platform. Morocco shipped just one goal across the entire AFCON 2025 knockout phase before the disputed final and zero across qualifying — Bounou behind Aguerd and Saiss is one of the most settled rearguard pairings in international football. Hakimi has now logged over 80 caps and remains the most complete attacking full-back in world football, supplying overlaps, set-piece deliveries and goals from open play.

The weakness is the No 9 vacuum. En-Nesyri and El Kaabi are the senior strikers but both blew hot and cold across AFCON — Morocco scored just one in 90 minutes against Tanzania, South Africa and Senegal in the knockouts and repeatedly relied on Hakimi or Brahim Diaz to break ties from elsewhere. Brazil and Scotland will defend deeper than the African opposition and that scoring shortage is the single biggest concern over the four-week tournament.

Predicted XI (4-3-3)

Predicted starting XI — 4-3-3. Captain: Achraf Hakimi.

Manager: Mohamed Ouahbi

Ouahbi took the senior job on 5 March 2026 after Walid Regragui’s resignation in the wake of the disputed AFCON final. The 49-year-old had spent 17 years in Anderlecht’s academy in Belgium before returning home, then coached the Atlas Cubs to Morocco’s first FIFA U20 World Cup title in October 2025 — beating the United States, France and Argentina in the knockouts. He has kept Regragui’s 4-3-3 with a higher press and more direct vertical play through Brahim Diaz.

Captain: Achraf Hakimi

Hakimi captains Morocco from right-back, where he turned 27 in November and has been a fixture in the side since 2017. Now 80-plus caps deep, he won the 2024-25 Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain and finished on the 2025 Ballon d’Or shortlist. He drove Morocco’s run to the AFCON 2025 final on home soil and is the system’s heartbeat — set-piece taker, primary chance creator from the back, emotional leader.

Morocco players to watch at World Cup 2026

Achraf Hakimi — Right-back / captain, Paris Saint-Germain

Morocco’s talisman and 2024-25 Champions League winner with PSG. The most complete attacking full-back in world football — supplies overlaps, set-piece deliveries and goals from open play, and was top of the African 2025 Ballon d’Or shortlist. The team is built around his right flank.

Brahim Diaz — Attacking midfielder, Real Madrid

Switched allegiance from Spain in 2024 and immediately became Morocco’s chief creator between the lines. La Liga and Champions League experience at Real Madrid; his ability to receive on the half-turn and slip Hakimi or En-Nesyri in behind is the system’s pivot point.

Ayoub El Kaabi — Striker, Olympiacos

Topped Morocco’s qualifying scoring chart with 4 goals and is the focal point of the front line in Ouahbi’s first squad. The 32-year-old Olympiacos forward is a name worth a hard look in the Golden Boot market at a triple-figure price for a side that conceded zero across CAF Group E.

Sofyan Amrabat — Defensive midfielder, Fenerbahce

The 2022 World Cup breakout star who anchored Morocco’s run to the semi-finals. Still the side’s pre-eminent ball-winner. Provides the screen in front of Aguerd and Saiss that lets the full-back line push so high.

Nayef Aguerd — Centre-back, Real Sociedad

Left-footed centre-back whose composure on the ball and aerial dominance underpinned the clean-sheet qualifying campaign. Anchors the left side of the back four and is the senior partner in a defence that has not conceded a competitive goal since November 2024.

How Morocco qualified for World Cup 2026

Morocco won CAF Group E with a perfect record — eight matches played, eight wins, 20 goals scored and zero conceded. Qualification was sealed on 5 September 2025 with a 5-0 home win over Niger in Rabat, making Morocco the first African nation to confirm a 2026 ticket and securing a third successive World Cup appearance.

The campaign was extended slightly by Eritrea’s withdrawal from the group, which voided their results, but Morocco took maximum points from every match they played — Niger, Tanzania, Zambia and Republic of the Congo home and away. Ayoub El Kaabi led the scoring with 4 goals; Hakimi added three from right-back. The decisive scoreline was the 5-0 against Niger that confirmed top spot with two matches to spare.

Morocco’s World Cup history

Morocco are the most successful African and Arab nation in World Cup history. Seven appearances since 1970, two knockout-stage runs (1986, 2022) and the watershed fourth-place finish in Qatar three and a half years ago that broke the African glass ceiling. Walid Regragui’s 2022 squad beat Belgium, Spain and Portugal en route to the semi-final — the first African and Arab side to reach the final four.

Two moments stand out. In 1986, Mehdi Faria’s side became the first African or Arab team to top a World Cup group, drawing with England and Poland and beating Portugal 3-1 before falling to a late Lothar Matthaus free-kick against West Germany. In 2022, Youssef En-Nesyri’s 42nd-minute header against Portugal sent Morocco into the semi-finals — the defining image of African football’s biggest tournament moment.

Morocco’s recent form

Last five senior internationals (most recent first):

• 31 Mar 2026 — Paraguay — 2-1 W — Friendly (Lens)
• 27 Mar 2026 — Ecuador — 0-0 D — Friendly (Madrid)
• 18 Jan 2026 — Senegal — 0-1 L — AFCON 2025 final (overturned 3-0 by CAF Appeal Board on 17 March 2026; Senegal appealing to CAS)
• 14 Jan 2026 — South Africa — 1-0 W — AFCON 2025 semi-final
• 11 Jan 2026 — Tanzania — 1-0 W — AFCON 2025 quarter-final

The 2-1 win over Paraguay was Ouahbi’s first as senior boss. Five clean sheets in the last six matches — the only goal conceded was Pape Gueye’s 94th-minute winner in the disputed AFCON final, which CAF later voided.

Morocco World Cup 2026 odds

Morocco are 50/1 with bet365 to win the tournament — best-priced African nation in the World Cup winner odds by some distance. The 6/1 to top Group C ahead of Brazil reflects bookmaker confidence in the defensive platform; reaching the quarter-final at 9/4 is a reasonable round-of-16 bet given Morocco’s last-tournament knockout pedigree. The 12/1 to reach the semi-final is the longer-odds market that prices the side’s outright credentials honestly.

Odds correct as of 1 May 2026 and subject to change. For the full World Cup 2026 outright market, group winners and golden-boot specials, see our World Cup 2026 betting hub.

Head-to-head record

Morocco vs Brazil

Three previous senior meetings: a 3-0 Brazil win at the 1998 World Cup group stage in Nantes, a goalless friendly draw, and a 2-1 Morocco victory in a Tangier friendly on 25 March 2023 — Sofiane Boufal, Selim Amallah and Abde Ezzalzouli on the scoresheet. Morocco’s only senior win in the fixture and a genuine warning shot from a side that had just made the 2022 semi-final.

Morocco vs Scotland

One previous meeting at the World Cup: Morocco 3-0 Scotland in the 1998 group stage in Saint-Etienne. Mustapha Hadji, Salaheddine Bassir and Abdeljalil Hadda scored, Craig Burley was sent off, Scotland were eliminated. The Foxborough rematch on 19 June will be the first senior meeting since.

Morocco vs Haiti

No documented senior meetings between the two nations. The 24 June group match in Atlanta will be the first.

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