Morocco’s Global Talent Hunt: Reshaping Atlas Lions for 2026 World Cup Glory

"We are currently in the process of changing the sports nationalities of certain players, and we wish to accelerate the procedures to integrate and test them," confirmed Walid Regragui, coach of the Moroccan national team. He added: these players "have chosen to play for Morocco, and they are now finalizing the administrative procedures, which confirms that the decision comes from the players themselves." According to the daily newspaper As, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) is working to finalize the integration of five young players playing in top European clubs.

These are Rachad Fettal, a striker from Real Madrid in Spain; Ayoub Bouaddi, a midfielder from LOSC Lille in France; Anas Salah-Eddine, on loan from AS Roma in Italy to Ajax Eindhoven in the Netherlands; Rayane Bounida, a playmaker from Ajax Amsterdam; and Mohamed Ihattaren, a player from Fortuna in the Netherlands. These players should provide a qualitative reinforcement for the national team. They will be of great use to Morocco, which aspires to go further in the next World Cup, which will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Atlas Lions had reached the semifinals of the 2022 Qatar World Cup for the first time in their history.

Furthermore, the Moroccan team has equaled the world record for the longest consecutive international winning streak, previously held by the Spanish team between 2008 and 2009, after their victory (1-0) over Bahrain in a friendly match. If they win the match against Congo, scheduled for Tuesday, October 14 in Rabat, they will set a new record by becoming the first team in history to achieve sixteen consecutive victories.