Moroccan football federation officials have successfully attracted several football talents with dual nationality to represent the "Atlas Lions" in the upcoming period.
The Spanish newspaper "Marca" reported that 6 of the players have changed their international nationality from Belgium and the Netherlands and chose to wear the Moroccan national team jersey over the past 13 days.
The Six Players Who Recently Decided to Wear the Moroccan Jersey:
- Ryan Benida (20 years old) player at Ajax Amsterdam.
- Saif Aldin Lazaz (20 years old) player at Genk.
- Benjamin Khadri (19 years old) player at PSV Eindhoven.
- Ayoub Waraqi (18 years old) player at Feyenoord.
- Walid Agougil (21 years old) player at Utrecht.
- Sami Bouhoudan (18 years old) player at PSV Eindhoven.
"Marca" clarified that the first two names preferred Morocco over Belgium, while the other four followed the same route over the Netherlands.
In addition, Moroccans were crowned as world champions at the U-20 World Cup.
Cumulative Effort
These achievements are the result of many years of work in training and recruiting, confirmed by Wahbi, the architect of the World Cup victory who later became the head coach of the senior team, succeeding his compatriot Walid Erraki.
Wahbi said: "We do not want to wait until the 2030 World Cup to become world champions, Morocco will try to achieve that in 2026. We are now witnessing the fruits of all this effort. The academies, their infrastructure, and the federal centers are all part of a vision set a long time ago."
The other pillar of Morocco's success is the detailed scouting and selection process that began in 2010, according to "Marca".
Investment for the Future
This step is considered a "future investment" in preparation for the next edition of the World Cup (2026), in which the Moroccan team is participating and was placed in Group Three.
Among these six names, Mohamed Wahbi, the new coach of the Moroccan national team, called up only one player, Benida, for the friendly matches against Ecuador (1.1) and Paraguay happening this coming Tuesday.
It is expected that Benida will not be the last during the upcoming period, as Moroccan federation officials are monitoring Ayoub Bouadi, a player at Lille, who has not yet made his decision regarding international representation,
While Tiago Bittersch prefers to represent the Spanish national team.
Moroccan Successes
Moroccan football in general and the first team, in particular, have been experiencing a period filled with successes and achievements for years, the most prominent of which is achieving 4th place in the last edition of the World Cup in 2022 hosted by Qatar, an unprecedented Arab and African achievement.
The Court of Arbitration for Sports upheld the decision of the African Football Confederation's Appeals Committee to crown them as champions of the latest edition of the Africa Cup of Nations over Senegal, whose officials had filed an appeal.
Erraki previously said: "I want to say that some processes have not yet finished, and if some players are not on this list, it is because we are undertaking procedures to change their sporting nationality, which might take some time."
The talent search process included countries such as Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
The draw for the 2026 World Cup placed the Moroccan team in Group Three alongside Brazil, Scotland, and Haiti.
Schedule of the Moroccan National Team Matches in the World Cup Group Stage:
- Brazil – Morocco June 14, 2026.
- Scotland – Morocco June 20, 2026.
- Morocco – Haiti June 25, 2026.
