Four years ago, Morocco reached the semi-finals of a World Cup, became the first African nation to do so, and spent the tournament producing the kind of performances that made neutral observers wonder if they had underestimated African football for a generation. The question was always what came next. What came next was Walid Regragui resigning in March, the federation appointing Mohamed Ouahbi in his place, and the Atlas Lions arriving at another World Cup without the manager who built everything the 2022 run was based on.
Ouahbi named his 26 on Tuesday. The structure is recognizable — the same European-born dual-national model that Regragui assembled, the same pressing intensity in theory, the same captain on the right side. The implementation is his to prove.
Hakimi
Hakimi and the Fitness Question
Achraf Hakimi is in the squad — and fit enough to play in the UEFA Champions League final with PSG on May 30, just two weeks before Morocco open against Brazil. The thigh injury that raised concerns during the semi-final against Bayern Munich appears not to have kept him out of the final, which is the clearest possible signal about his availability for June 13.
Hakimi is 95 caps deep and the captain. His overlapping runs from right back remain one of the most dangerous tools in African football — a player so far forward for a defender that opponents cannot decide whether to mark him as a winger or leave him as a right back and accept the consequences of either choice. Morocco with a fully fit Hakimi, coming off a Champions League final, is a better proposition than the fitness question the squad announcement initially implied.
Noussair Mazraoui joins him in the defensive line from Manchester United. Nayef Aguerd (Marseille) and Chadi Riad (Crystal Palace) were both carrying fitness concerns in the lead-up to the announcement and both made the squad, suggesting the medical staff is satisfied with where they are.
Brahim Díaz and the Creative Engine
Brahim Díaz is the attacking focal point — Real Madrid's technically gifted forward who switched international allegiance from Spain in 2023 and has since become central to what Morocco want to do with the ball. He missed a penalty in the Africa Cup of Nations final and carried that into this World Cup cycle. What Ouahbi gets from him at the tournament will depend partly on how thoroughly that has been processed.
The midfield behind him is the area where Morocco's depth is most convincing. Sofyan Amrabat (Real Betis) anchors it. Azzedine Ounahi (Girona), Neil El Aynaoui (Roma), and Bilal El Khannouss (Stuttgart) provide options at the next level. El Khannouss is 21 — the newest of the new generation — who made his case at Leicester before moving to Stuttgart. Ismael Saibari (PSV) was also managing fitness concerns heading into the announcement and is in the squad.
The Bouaddi Story
The most significant recruitment decision of Morocco's World Cup preparation was finalizing Ayyoub Bouaddi. The 18-year-old had represented France at under-21 level. On May 15, FIFA approved his request to switch nationality to Morocco. France coach Didier Deschamps then omitted him from France's senior World Cup squad entirely. The door closed. Bouaddi is now Morocco's, playing his football at Lille, and represents exactly the kind of dual-national acquisition that made the 2022 squad so competitive.
Ouahbi on Bouaddi: "We're very proud and delighted to have him with us. The most important thing is that he is very proud to represent Morocco." In the 25 minutes he played in a friendly against Burundi during Morocco's training camp, Ouahbi said, he could see immediately that the midfielder absorbed things quickly.
He is not expected to start. His presence signals what the next cycle might look like.
Who Isn't Here
The more striking editorial story may be who Ouahbi left out. Youssef En-Nesyri scored the winner against Portugal in the 2022 semi-final — the goal that made Morocco the first African nation to reach a World Cup last four. He featured in all seven of Morocco's Africa Cup of Nations matches earlier this season. He is not in this squad. Ouahbi has made a clear break from the forwards Regragui trusted most.
Hakim Ziyech is also absent, despite returning to form with Wydad Casablanca in the Moroccan domestic league. Ziyech and En-Nesyri are joint third in Morocco's all-time scoring charts. Neither travels to North America.
Sofiane Boufal trained with Morocco in May — his first national team involvement in two years. Ouahbi was direct about why he didn't make the final 26: "The number 10 spot was already taken." The squad reflects new priorities. The 2022 heroes who remain are Bounou, Aguerd, Amrabat, Hakimi, and five others — nine total, according to FIFA. The rest of the group is being rebuilt around them.
Ouahbi: The Youth Coach Who Won a World Cup
The article that appointed Ouahbi as Regragui's successor in March described him as the federation's youth coach stepping up. That framing undersells what he had actually done: Ouahbi led Morocco's under-20 side to the FIFA U-20 World Cup title in 2025 — a world championship, with youth players. He arrived at the senior job not as a caretaker but as a coach with a recent major trophy. His first months also coincided with the AFCON 2025 final on home soil, where Morocco were initially beaten by Senegal before CAF overturned the result due to Senegal's walk-out. He inherited a complicated situation. He has navigated it quietly.
Brazil on June 13 at MetLife. Scotland on June 19 in Foxborough. Haiti on June 24 in Atlanta.
The group is favorable. Brazil are the obvious danger — the clear favorite to top it — but Scotland and Haiti represent matches Morocco should win comfortably. The real test comes in the knockout rounds, where the 2022 run taught everyone watching that Morocco are capable of beating teams they should not, at stages of the tournament when composure under pressure matters most.
Whether a squad managed through a coaching transition, with three key players carrying fitness questions into the opening match, can replicate that composure is what this tournament will answer.
Ouahbi has been publicly measured about expectations. He is the youth coach who stepped up. The draw gave him time to find his footing. Whether Brazil in the first match is the right opponent for that purpose is a different question.
Morocco World Cup 2026 Squad
Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal), Munir El Kajou (Renaissance Berkane), Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (AS FAR)
Defenders: Achraf Hakimi (PSG, captain), Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United), Nayef Aguerd (Marseille), Chadi Riad (Crystal Palace), Issa Diop (Fulham), Anass Salah-Eddine (PSV Eindhoven, on loan from Roma), Zakaria El Ouahdi (KRC Genk), Redouane Halhal (Mechelen), Youssef Belammari (Al-Ahly)
Midfielders: Sofyan Amrabat (Real Betis), Azzedine Ounahi (Girona), Neil El Aynaoui (AS Roma), Bilal El Khannouss (Stuttgart), Ismael Saibari (PSV Eindhoven), Samir El Mourabet (Strasbourg), Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille)
Forwards: Brahim Díaz (Real Madrid), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos), Abde Ezzalzouli (Real Betis), Soufiane Rahimi (Al-Ain), Chemsdine Talbi (Sunderland), Yassine Gessime (Strasbourg), Ayoube Amaimouni (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Coach: Mohamed Ouahbi | Group C: Brazil · Scotland · Haiti