🌍
4th
World Cup 2022
First African & Arab nation to reach the 2022 semi-finals. The defining run.
ASUD AL-ATLASAFRICA'S FIRST SEMI-FINALIST
FILE No. 17CLASS: DARK HORSESTATUS: THE SEMI-FINAL ENCOREWC 2026 · USA·CAN·MEX
☆History made in Qatar. Now to go further.
MOROCCO
The Atlas Lions// 2022 changed everything — a continent's expectations rose with them
“We didn't just play for Morocco. We played for Africa and the Arab world.”— The spirit of Qatar 2022
The record
4th — 2022
Best WC finish
1 — 1976
AFCON titles
7
WC appearances
#8
FIFA Ranking
01 · The Dossier — The Soul
The team that
moved a continent
In 2022, Morocco beat Belgium, Spain and Portugal to become the first African nation in a World Cup semi-final. It wasn't a fluke — it was a statement, and it changed what's expected.
The diaspora+Defensive steel+Regragui+A continent behind them
The AtlasThe diasporaQatar 2022Africa's prideDima Maghrib
Morocco's modern strength is its diaspora — a squad drawn from the academies of Europe, born in the Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy and Canada, all choosing the red shirt. Bound together by Walid Regragui, they became a family that defended like a wall.
Qatar 2022 was the breakthrough: clean sheets against the elite, Bono's saves, and a whole continent — then the Arab world — adopting the team. The challenge of 2026 is proving it was a beginning, not a peak.
02 · The Cabinet — Honours
The breakthrough
A continental title from the seventies, and the run that rewrote the history books.
05 · The Legend — The First Lion
Larbi Benbarek
They called him 'The Black Pearl' — and Pelé reportedly said that if he was the king of football, Larbi Benbarek was the god of it.
Born in Casablanca in 1914, he starred in France and Spain when few from the continent did, paving the way for every Moroccan who followed.
From that pioneer to a 2022 semi-final, the line runs through generations of players who turned Morocco from outsider to genuine contender.
// The line of Atlas Lions
02
Mustapha Hadji
African POTY 1998
03
Achraf Hakimi
The modern captain · 2022 hero
04
Noureddine Naybet
The defensive rock
BENBAREK
Larbi Benbarek (1914–1992)
1914
Born, Casablanca
🇫🇷🇪🇸
Pioneer abroad
∞
The first
06 · Threat Assessment
⚠ HOSTILE · THE OPENING GIANT
The enemy
Group C hands Morocco the toughest possible start — Brazil, in New Jersey, on day one. But the Lions have already proven they fear no one.
Brazil — the group openerMAXIMUM
The weight of 2022EXPECTATION
Set-piece & counter threatTHEIRS
Morocco no longer surprises anyone — and that is the new challenge. The hunters are now the hunted.
The wound
// one step from the final
// Most feared opponents
Brazil
GROUP C
The day-one giant — though Morocco beat them in 2023.
France
KNOCKOUT
Ended the 2022 dream in the semi-final. The score Morocco wants to settle.
Spain
KNOCKOUT
Beaten on penalties in the 2022 last 16 — a famous Moroccan night.
04 · The road — The road · WC 2026
Kickoff
10
Days
08
Hours
33
Mins
36
Secs
Until Morocco's first kick — vs Brazil · June 13
07 · The Heartbeat
Lightning rod
He is the captain, the full-back the world covets, and the symbol of the diaspora generation. As Hakimi goes, so go the Atlas Lions.
HAKIMI
2022 semi-final heroThe captainUCL winner · PSGThe diaspora's face
🏆
UCL · PSG
80+
Caps
№2
The captain
Born in Madrid, he chose Morocco — and chipped the decisive penalty past Spain to send a nation into delirium. “He is what the diaspora became.”
The Encore Meter
// one-off miracle, or the new normal?
2022 was the peakBuilt to do it again
Current reading
The new power
A top-eight FIFA ranking, a deep talent pool and elite coaching. This isn't a fluke anymore — it's a project built to last.
08 · Key Power · World Cup 2026
BRAHIM DÍAZ
The new creator · Real Madrid · No. 10
Morocco's 2022 was built on defence. Its 2026 has a new dimension: Brahim Díaz, the Real Madrid playmaker who switched from Spain to Morocco and gives the Lions the one thing they lacked — a top-level creator to unlock deep blocks. If Morocco are to go one step further, he is the difference between defending well and winning.
🏆
UCL · Real Madrid
26
Age at the World Cup
№10
The creator
The last line of the file
In 2022, Morocco carried Africa.
In 2026, it carries the belief.
Atlas LionsThe diasporaGroup CDima MaghribAfrica's pride
Squad
As of 2026-06-01
Manager
H. Regragui