Morocco national football team

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.

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.

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.

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 (Mustapha 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 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).

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.

Moroccan national football team in the 2014

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.

Morocco vs Portugal in the 2018 World Cup

The national team won the championship of African nations in 2018, a tournament reserved for African national teams with a team formed only by players playing in the Moroccan championship. 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. 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.

The following players were called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against  Sudan and  Guinea on 12 and 16 November 2021.[4]
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
1	1GK	Yassine Bounou	(1991-04-05) 5 April 1991	35	0	Sevilla
22	1GK	Anas Zniti	(1988-10-28) 28 October 1988	3	0	Raja Casablanca
	1GK	Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti	(1996-04-05) 5 April 1996	3	0	Wydad Casablanca
2	2DF	Achraf Hakimi	(1998-11-04) 4 November 1998	41	5	Paris Saint-Germain
3	2DF	Adam Masina	(1994-01-02) 2 January 1994	7	0	Watford
5	2DF	Nayef Aguerd	(1996-03-30) 30 March 1996	12	1	Rennes
6	2DF	Romain Saïss (captain)	(1990-03-26) 26 March 1990	54	1	Wolverhampton Wanderers
18	2DF	Sofian Chakla	(1993-09-02) 2 September 1993	3	0	OH Leuven
21	2DF	Souffian El Karouani	(2000-10-19) 19 October 2000	3	0	NEC
	2DF	Jawad El Yamiq	(1992-02-29) 29 February 1992	10	2	Valladolid
	2DF	Sofiane Alakouch	(1998-07-29) 29 July 1998	2	0	Metz
7	3MF	Imran Louza	(1999-05-01) 1 May 1999	5	2	Watford
11	3MF	Fayçal Fajr	(1988-08-01) 1 August 1988	44	3	Sivasspor
13	3MF	Ilias Chair	(1997-10-30) 30 October 1997	7	1	Queens Park Rangers
16	3MF	Aymen Barkok	(1998-05-21) 21 May 1998	14	1	Eintracht Frankfurt
20	3MF	Sofyan Amrabat	(1996-08-21) 21 August 1996	27	0	Fiorentina
	3MF	Youssef Maleh	(1998-08-28) 28 August 1998	0	0	Fiorentina
8	4FW	Ayoub El Kaabi	(1993-06-25) 25 June 1993	15	7	Hatayspor
9	4FW	Sofiane Boufal	(1993-09-17) 17 September 1993	22	1	Angers
10	4FW	Munir El Haddadi	(1995-09-01) 1 September 1995	8	2	Sevilla
17	4FW	Achraf Bencharki	(1994-09-24) 24 September 1994	11	0	Zamalek
19	4FW	Youssef En-Nesyri	(1997-06-01) 1 June 1997	40	11	Sevilla
23	4FW	Ryan Mmaee	(1997-11-01) 1 November 1997	7	4	Ferencvárosi

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	Munir Mohamedi	(1989-05-10) 10 May 1989	41	0	Hatayspor	v.  Guinea, 12 October 2021
GK	Sami Tlemcani	(2004-02-21) 21 February 2004	0	0	Chelsea	v.  Guinea, 12 October 2021
DF	Samy Mmaee	(1996-09-08) 8 September 1996	5	0	Ferencváros	v.  Guinea, 12 October 2021
DF	Ayoub El Amloud	(1994-04-08) 8 April 1994	1	0	Wydad Casablanca	v.  Guinea, 12 October 2021
DF	Achraf Lazaar	(1992-01-22) 22 January 1992	12	0	Portimonense	v.  Burkina Faso, 12 June 2021
DF	Zouhair Feddal	(1989-12-23) 23 December 1989	21	1	Sporting CP	v.  Burundi, 30 March 2021
DF	Issam Chebake	(1989-10-12) 12 October 1989	7	0	APOEL	v.  Burundi, 30 March 2021
DF	Nabil Dirar	(1986-02-25) 25 February 1986	42	3	Fenerbahçe	v.  Mauritania, 26 March 2021 WD
MF	Selim Amallah	(1996-11-15) 15 November 1996	12	3	Standard Liège	v.  Guinea, 12 October 2021
MF	Abdou Harroui	(1998-01-13) 13 January 1998	0	0	Sassuolo	v.  Guinea, 12 October 2021
MF	Adel Taarabt	(1989-05-24) 24 May 1989	29	4	Benfica	v.  Sudan, 2 September 2021
MF	Yahya Jabrane	(1991-06-18) 18 June 1991	3	0	Wydad Casablanca	v.  Burkina Faso, 12 June 2021
MF	Oussama Tannane	(1994-03-23) 23 March 1994	11	2	Vitesse	v.  Burundi, 30 March 2021
FW	Zakaria Aboukhlal	(2000-02-18) 18 February 2000	5	1	AZ	v.  Guinea, 12 October 2021
FW	Soufiane Rahimi	(1996-03-23) 23 March 1996	2	0	Al-Ain	v.  Guinea, 12 October 2021
FW	Hakim Ziyech	(1993-03-19) 19 March 1993	41	17	Chelsea	v.  Burkina Faso, 12 June 2021
FW	Youssef El-Arabi	(1987-02-03) 3 February 1987	47	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

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