Morocco national football team

The selection of Morocco was created in 1928 and played its first game on 22 December of that year against the B team of France, from which it was defeated by 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 selections such as those of the Football League of Algeria, the Football League of Oran, the Football League of Costantinia and the Tunisia Football League. 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, 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 a selection of Moroccans, Algerians and Tunisians challenged the national team of France at the Paris Princes Park. Led by star Larbi Benbarek, the Maghreb selection managed to win by 3–2, a month before the Toissant rouge attacks made in November 1954 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 the national of an independent country against Iraq, at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, and drew 3–3. In the tournament the Moroccan team obtained the first victory of its history against Libya, with the result of 5–1, to then beat Tunisia 3–1 and gain access to the semifinal. Morocco finished in first place the group 1 of the competition, in which the path of the North African formation ended just in the semifinals, against Syria, on 26 October 1957, despite the 1–1 draw, it was the Syrians who passed the round and qualified for the final.

From 1957 to 1958, Morocco held numerous friendly meetings against the National Liberation Front team, the representative of Algeria before its independence in 1958. In 1959, they took part for the first time in an international competition, the preliminary rounds of the Rome Olympics 1960. He finished second in a group of three teams, behind Tunisia, but only for an unfavorable goal difference. In the same year the football federation of Morocco joined the FIFA.

In 1960, Morocco made their debut in the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification, to be held in Chile. Inserted in group 2 of the African qualifications, it saw itself again against Tunisia. After two games ended with a win per side (2–1 for the Moroccans and 2–1 for the Tunisians), on 22 January 1961 a play-off match was played in Palermo, which ended in a tie (1–1). Morocco proceeded with the winning of a coin toss. Having defeated Ghana in the CAF Final Round, the Moroccan players gained access to the last qualifying round, against Spain, which eliminated Morocco with two victories (1–0 and 3–2).

In 1961, Morocco faced for the first time two European national teams, Yugoslavia and East Germany, and played the Pan-Arab Games in Casablanca, participating in the group of six teams and winning it. On 6 September 1961, Morocco won the largest victory in his history against Saudi Arabia (13–1). They also had two wins against a European team, an unprecedented event, beating East Germany 2–1 and 2–0.

In 1963, the Moroccan team came close to qualifying for the African Cup. 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 obtained the qualification under the leadership of the selector Mohamed Massoun, the Moroccans were included in a group of three teams due to the renunciation of North Korea and they recorded two consecutive defeats, against Hungary (6–0, the worst defeat ever of Morocco) and Yugoslavia (3–1, despite the initial advantage, scored in the second minute of play by 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 Mediterranean Games in Tunis 1967, the Moroccans were eliminated in the first round, finishing fourth in the group with Italy, France and Algeria.

Qualifying for the 1968 Olympics, Morocco refused to play against Israel, and eventually were 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).

Stamp of Italian post: in the picture, Rummenigge and Timoumi

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). Against West Germany, in the knockout rounds, an honorable elimination arrived, caused by a goal from Lothar Matthäus who scored a 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.

In 2012, the national team won the 2012 Arab Nations Cup, a tournament reserved for Arab national teams with a team made up only of players playing in the Moroccan championship.

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 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Mauritania and Burundi on 15 and 19 November 2019.
Caps and goals are correct as of 19 November 2019, after the match against Mauritania.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
12	1GK	Munir Mohand Mohamedi	(1989-05-10) 10 May 1989	38	0	Málaga
1	1GK	Yassine Bounou	(1991-04-05) 5 April 1991	20	0	Sevilla
	1GK	Anas Zniti	(1988-10-28) 28 October 1988	11	0	Raja Casablanca
17	2DF	Nabil Dirar	(1986-02-25) 25 February 1986	43	3	Fenerbahçe
6	2DF	Romain Saïss (captain)	(1990-03-26) 26 March 1990	41	1	Wolverhampton Wanderers
2	2DF	Achraf Hakimi	(1998-11-04) 4 November 1998	28	2	Borussia Dortmund
4	2DF	Zouhair Feddal	(1989-01-01) 1 January 1989	18	1	Betis
3	2DF	Hamza Mendyl	(1997-10-21) 21 October 1997	18	0	Dijon
5	2DF	Badr Banoun	(1993-09-30) 30 September 1993	12	1	Raja Casablanca
14	2DF	Noussair Mazraoui	(1997-11-14) 14 November 1997	10	1	Ajax
21	2DF	Yunis Abdelhamid	(1987-09-28) 28 September 1987	9	0	Reims
11	3MF	Fayçal Fajr	(1988-08-01) 1 August 1988	39	3	Getafe
	3MF	Omar El Kaddouri	(1990-08-21) 21 August 1990	28	5	PAOK
8	3MF	Adel Taarabt	(1989-05-24) 24 May 1989	23	4	Benfica
20	3MF	Sofyan Amrabat	(1996-08-21) 21 August 1996	14	0	Hellas Verona
13	3MF	Yahya Jabrane	(1991-06-18) 18 June 1991	3	0	Wydad Casablanca
15	3MF	Selim Amallah	(1996-11-15) 15 November 1996	2	0	Standard Liège
16	4FW	Nordin Amrabat	(1987-03-31) 31 March 1987	64	7	Al-Nassr
9	4FW	Youssef El-Arabi	(1987-02-03) 3 February 1987	42	15	Olympiacos
7	4FW	Hakim Ziyech	(1993-03-19) 19 March 1993	33	14	Chelsea
19	4FW	Youssef En-Nesyri	(1997-06-01) 1 June 1997	32	9	Sevilla
23	4FW	Rachid Alioui	(1992-06-18) 18 June 1992	18	2	Angers
10	4FW	Sofiane Boufal	(1993-09-17) 17 September 1993	17	0	Southampton
18	4FW	Oussama Idrissi	(1996-02-26) 26 February 1996	7	0	AZ

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	3	0	Wydad Casablanca	v.  Gabon, 15 October 2019
GK	Abdelali Mhamdi	(1991-11-29) 29 November 1991	3	0	Abha	2019 Africa Cup of Nations PRE / INJ
DF	Jawad El Yamiq	(1992-02-29) 29 February 1992	16	2	Zaragoza	v.  Gabon, 15 October 2019
DF	Nayef Aguerd	(1996-03-30) 30 March 1996	5	0	Dijon	v.  Gabon, 15 October 2019
DF	Issam Chebake	(1989-10-12) 12 October 1989	4	0	Yeni Malatyaspor	v.  Gabon, 15 October 2019
DF	Fouad Chafik INJ	(1986-10-16) 16 October 1986	12	0	Dijon	v.  Niger, 10 September 2019
DF	Achraf Dari	(1999-05-06) 6 May 1999	0	0	Wydad Casablanca	2019 Africa Cup of Nations PRE / INJ
MF	Mohamed Rayhi	(1994-07-01) 1 July 1994	0	0	Sparta Rotterdam	training camp, 2020
MF	Younès Belhanda	(1990-02-25) 25 February 1990	58	5	Galatasaray	v.  Gabon, 15 October 2019
MF	Mehdi Carcela	(1989-07-01) 1 July 1989	26	1	Standard Liège	v.  Gabon, 15 October 2019
MF	Youssef Aït Bennasser	(1996-07-07) 7 July 1996	25	0	Bordeaux	v.  Gabon, 15 October 2019
MF	Amine Harit	(1997-06-18) 18 June 1997	10	0	Schalke 04	v.  Gabon, 15 October 2019
MF	Mehdi Bourabia	(1991-07-08) 8 July 1991	7	0	Sassuolo	v.  Gabon, 15 October 2019
MF	Ahmed El Messaoudi	(1995-08-03) 3 August 1995	2	0	Groningen	v.  Gabon, 15 October 2019
MF	Anuar Tuhami	(1995-01-15) 15 January 1995	2	0	Panathinaikos	v.  Gabon, 15 October 2019
FW	Walid Azaro	(1995-10-06) 6 October 1995	9	0	Al Ahly	v.  Niger, 10 September 2019
FW	Khalid Boutaïb	(1987-04-24) 24 April 1987	26	9	Zamalek	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
FW	Abderrazak Hamdallah	(1990-12-17) 17 December 1990	17	6	Al-Nassr	2019 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW	Ayoub El Kaabi	(1993-06-26) 26 June 1993	16	11	Wydad Casablanca	2019 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
RET Player retired from internationals SUS Player is suspended INJ Did not make it to the current squad due to injury DEC Player declined the call-up to the squad PRE Preliminary squad / standby

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	To be determined
Total	Round of 16	5/21	16	2	5	9	14	22	116	53	41	22	159	80

• Africa Cup of Nations

Winner: 1976

Runners-up: 2004

Third place: 1980

• Arab Nations Cup

Champions: 2012

• African Nations Championship

Champions: 2018

• Pan Arab Games: 1961, 1985
• Mediterranean Games: 1983, 2013
• Jeux de la Francophonie: 2001, 2017
• Islamic Solidarity Games: 2013
• Africa U-20 Cup of Nations: 1997
• Arab Cup U-20: 2011
• UNAF U-20 Tournament: 2015
• UNAF U-17 Tournament: 2007, 2011, 2018

• Morocco national futsal team
• Morocco national beach soccer team