by Morocco head into the Africa Cup of Nations with unprecedented expectations on their shoulders. The tournament, which was originally due to take place last summer but was postponed by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) due to the rainy season in the host country, Ivory Coast, will mark the Atlas Lions bid for the World Cup follow up and add to a legacy that has been surpassed by no other nation in Africa.
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Drawn in Group F along with Tanzania, DR Congo and Zambia, Morocco are favorites for the tournament. In Qatar, they became the first African country to reach the semi-finals of the tournament, topping a group that included Belgium, Croatia and Canada before beating Spain and Portugal to reach the last four.
In contrast, Morocco won one Afcon trophy, in 1976, in 19 appearances. It is disappointing that the country has the best football infrastructure on the continent, funded by King Mohammed VI. Unlike many of their African counterparts, the Confederation is well run and has plenty of talent playing club football at the highest level in Europe. One final and two semi-finals are a poor result for a country often cited as one of its favourites, in nearly five decades. In the recent edition of Afcon, worse teams with far fewer resources have won.
Now, the Atlas Lions are not only one of their favorites, but their favorite. The team set extremely high standards in Qatar but will have to deal with changing the way they play on the pitch, and their mindset when they kick off their competition at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San- Pedro.
Since the World Cup, Morocco has struggled. They secured a huge 2-1 win against Brazil, but losses against South Africa and draws against Peru, Cape Verde and Ivory Coast highlighted how much they will need to change the way they play. In response to his team’s form, Morocco manager Walid Regragui said: “We are playing against the best players in the world. I could go and play against the teams that are in the 50th or 60th place in the Fifa rankings and then say that we don’t have the upper hand in many games.”
It seems he was digging in Algeria and their 35 match unbeaten run that ended at Afcon 2021. It was a curious comment given that Morocco have mostly played sides below 50 in the rankings, including Liberia who are in 153rd place.
Perhaps his critics have a point. In Qatar, Morocco were extremely disciplined and organized defensively. In the goal, Bono took care of the rare chances that went past the back four, Achraf Hakimi, Nayef Aguerd, Romain Saïss and Noussair Mazraoui. Sofyan Amrabat was the backbone of Morocco’s industry, but at the same time he proved that he was much more than the average destroyer with his progressive running and running. Azedine Ounahi was instrumental in moving the ball up the pitch and his pace, technique and decision-making were key to maintaining possession and executing Regragui’s tactic of exploiting the opposition’s willingness to attack to create spaces find to exploit.
None of that changed for Morocco. They still rarely concede and can open up their opponent’s midfield. It is ahead that they are concerned. Hakim Ziyech was in superb form at the World Cup, but 13 months on from the 30-year-old he is struggling to maintain fitness at Galatasaray, having missed 13 games this season with a foot injury and a hamstring problem .
Likewise, Sofiane Boufal has played just five games this season after picking up an unknown injury that kept him out of action with Qatari side Al-Rayyan for over 100 days. He last played 90 minutes in August.
Then there is the beloved Youssef En-Nesyri. In Qatar, his only goal in the winning stage, a stunning header against Portugal, booked his side’s place in the semi-finals. However, throughout his career he has been criticized for his erratic form and seems to be in one of those slums. The national team have not scored a goal since the World Cup and have five league goals for Sevilla this season.
It would be too early to say that Morocco has been found out, but it is difficult for them to compete with the heavy hitters in the world, who have given them space, to the sides that are trying to bring them down to level. , block them physically and then grind a result. That’s how Morocco have been eliminated at their past three Afcons, crumbling in crucial moments against sides they should have beaten: a 2-1 extra-time loss to Egypt in 2022, a penalty miss 4 -1 against Benin in 2019 and their 1-0 win over Egypt in 2017.
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It doesn’t help that Regragui has exceeded the team’s expectations. On the back of the World Cup, he said Morocco needed to win the continental trophy to cement their legacy. Less than a year later, he did a complete 180, suggesting that hopes of progressing beyond the group stage must be dampened. “It will be very difficult for us to win the Afcon,” he said. “We’re not going to be your favorite. The last time we made a semi-final I think it was a player. I had hair.”
Recently, he changed back to accepting being favorites and expecting the players to do it in their efforts. “Being a hurdler at the World Cup and a favorite at Afcon is an advantage. We have gained a new status not only in Africa but also at the global level, with a place in the top 15 [in the Fifa rankings]. Players must adapt to this new status. It’s always nice to be on a team that’s scared.”
In Qatar, Morocco were exciting outsiders, a team representing an entire continent and region of the world that is often underrated, in football or otherwise. They are now among envied competitors and will stop at nothing to take their place. It is up to them to show whether the pressure of building on their World Cup success will drive them forward or prove detrimental. Morocco’s football heritage depends on it.
