New Coach, Same Lions: Morocco's 2026 World Cup Squad Predicted
Regragui out, Ouahbi in. Twelve weeks to kick-off. The semi-finalists return. Our predicted Morocco 26, our XI for Brazil, and our scoreline.
In March 2026, Morocco changed their head coach twelve weeks before their opening World Cup fixture. That opening fixture is against Brazil. You could not invent a more nerve-shredding set of circumstances if you tried.
Walid Regragui — the man who took the Atlas Lions to the 2022 semi-finals, the first African team to ever reach that stage — said the squad needed a "fresh face" and stepped aside. Mohamed Ouahbi, the U-20 World Cup winning coach, stepped in. He has been given the most talented Moroccan squad in history and about ninety days to make them his own.
Either this is the most confident managerial handover in World Cup history, or it is the most chaotic. We think it might actually work. Here's why — and here's the XI we're sending out against Brazil.
The Goalkeeper: Bounou in Goal, No Discussion
Yassine Bounou. One of the best goalkeepers in the world. The man who kept clean sheets against Portugal and Spain in Qatar's knockout rounds, in games where Morocco were the clear underdogs and the world expected it to go wrong.
Ouahbi's first smart decision should be making it clear that Bounou's position is not up for debate. You do not disrupt a goalkeeper of his quality with tactical experimentation. You tell him he's number one and you let him get on with it.
The defence organises around Bounou's instructions. He talks, they move. The Atlas Lions have been one of the hardest teams in world football to score against when this unit is functioning properly. There is no reason for that to change.
Hakimi's Right Side: The Best Right-Back In The World Right Now
Achraf Hakimi is the best right-back on the planet. We're saying it plainly because too many conversations tiptoe around it and offer qualifications that are not necessary.
His attacking output — the runs beyond, the crosses, the goals, the sheer speed — is extraordinary. But the thing that makes Hakimi special is that he does all of that without becoming a defensive liability. He reads the spa