Morocco
- Hakim Ziyech – Goals: 17
- Youssef El Arabi – Goals: 16
- Ayoub El Kaabi – Goals: 15
- Youssef En-Nesyri – Goals: 14
- Ahmed Faras – Goals: 12
Ahmed Faras captained Morocco from 1971-1979 and was a member of their first World Cup team in 1970. Faras, a striker, is Morocco’s all time leading scorer, with 36 goals and was voted the best player at AFCON 1976, which Morocco won.
Noureddine Naybet found success in Spain with Deportivo La Coruna and with the Moroccan national team. He’s the all time leader in appearances for the Atlas Lions and is the best defender in the nation’s history. He represented Morocco at eight major tournaments.
Ezzaki Badou is considered one of the best African goalies of all time. From 1979-1992, Badou played 118 times for the Moroccan national team. He helped Morocco reach their first World Cup knockout stage, in 1986 as he conceded just one goal in the group stage.
Mustapha Hadji is one of the few players to play in two World Cups for Morocco, in 1994 and 1998. He scored an excellent goal vs. Norway in the 1998 World Cup and was named the African Footballer of the Year the same year. The attacking midfielder scored 12 times in 63 appearances for Morocco.
Achraf Hakimi could very well be considered the best Moroccan player of all time by the time his career is over. The talented right back has already won league titles in France and Italy and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid in 2018. The Spanish-born Hakimi played in the 2018 World Cup as a 19-year-old and has already made 50 appearances before turning 24.
Morocco’s sixteen-year World Cup absence ended in 1986 and they weren’t expected to advance out of their group. Morocco’s opponents were three solid teams: England, Portugal and Poland.
The first match ended in a scoreless draw vs. Poland. There was more of the same in the second match as neither England nor Morocco could get a breakthrough goal.
With a win over Portugal, Morocco could guarantee themselves their first ever knockout stage appearance at the World Cup. They did just that as they put three goals on Portugal in a 3-1 victory. Abderrazak Khairi scored a first half double and Morocco became the first African team to both advance and win a World Cup group.
In the round of 16, Morocco held West Germany scoreless for over 85 minutes. However, a late long range free kick from Lothar Matthaus won the game for West Germany.
The Atlas Lions failed to pick up a point at the 1994 World Cup, which remains their worst performance to date. An early Belgium goal was enough to defeat Morocco in the first match. Then, the Atlas Lions disappointingly lost 2-1 to both Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands for early elimination.
Team Information
Morocco National Football Team History
Morocco’s first match as an independent country was at the 1957 Pan Arab games. The Morocco National Football Team drew 3-3 with Iraq in their first match and made the semifinals of the tournament.
Early on, Morocco almost made the FIFA World Cup but lost an intercontinental playoff to Spain in 1960. The Atlas Lions first won a tournament in 1961 and won all of their matches at the Pan Arab games that year.
The first Morocco FIFA World Cup appearance was in 1970 and they became the first African team to qualify through the traditional route. Egypt was the first African participant in 1934 but as an invitee.
First Africa Cup of Nations Won
In their first World Cup match, Morocco National Football Team opened the scoring versus West Germany but fell 2-1. They lost their next match 3-0 to Peru but drew with Bulgaria 1-1 in the group stage finale. With the draw, Morocco became the first African team to get a point at the World Cup.
Morocco made their first Africa Cup of Nations appearance in 1972 but drew all three of their matches. Four years later, though, Morocco won the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time, their first major trophy. Ahmed Faras was named the tournament’s best player.
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The better part of 10 years were unremarkable for the Atlas Lions, apart from a third-place finish at AFCON, but things changed in 1986. Morocco made the semifinals at AFCON 1986 and became the first African team to win a FIFA World Cup group later that year.
Return to a World Cup After 8 Years
The Morocco National Football Team made the round of 16 for the first time but lost due to a late Lothar Matthaus goal. The Atlas Lions next returned to the World Cup eight years later at USA 1994.
It was a poor performance from Morocco as they lost all three of their group stage matches. The 24-team FIFA World Cup expanded to 32 teams in 1998 and the Atlas Lions qualified for consecutive World Cups for the first time.
Morocco National Football Team started off the tournament with a 2-2 draw against Norway but lost to Brazil 3-0 in their next match. The Atlas Lions beat Scotland 3-0 as Salaheddine Bassir scored a brace, but Norway scored a shock 2-1 win over Brazil.
Mokhtari: Joint-Top Scorer at the Africa Cup of Nations
In 2004, Morocco went on a run at the Africa Cup of Nations, winning Group B. They beat Algeria 3-1 in extra time in the quarterfinals and scored a huge 4-0 win over Mali in the semis. The Atlas Lions fell to Tunisia 2-1 in the final but Youssef Mokhtari was joint-top scorer at the tournament, with four goals.
Following a twenty-year absence, Morocco returned to the World Cup in 2018 with a new exciting generation of players. The Atlas Lions narrowly lost 1-0 to both Iran and Portugal but managed to draw with Spain 2-2 in the final match.
With a 5-2 aggregate win over DR Congo, Morocco booked their place at Qatar 2022.
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