Heading into their sixth World Cup campaign with players from 12 leagues on their books, excitement is building in the North African nation of Morocco, with its 37 million hoping to be celebrating their first victory in a World Cup game since defeating Scotland in 1998.
After a painful defeat to Egypt in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations last year, the Atlas Lions have since added exciting young talent and previously-exiled superstars back to the squad.
Previous head coach Vahid Halilhodzic had fallen out with both Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazraoui, but new manager Walid Regragui has played the peacemaker in recent months, reintegrating the Chelsea winger and the Bayern Munich full-back into the squad.
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Alongside those, Regragui has called up prodigious dribbler Abde Ezzalzouli for his first international tournament, alongside veteran striker Abderrazak Hamdallah, who has scored 17 goals in 21 appearances since joining Saudi club Al-Ittihad.
The former Wydad coach has also invited three players from the current African Champions League holders, although the trio look likely to join the supporting cast behind household names in the European game.
An intriguing mix of exciting, young players and experienced heads, Sports Mole assesses the nation's chances of progressing from one of the competition's most competitive groups.
GROUP
After picking up just one point in the 2018 World Cup, the Atlas Giants take on three sides, in Croatia, Belgium and Canada, that they have never faced in continental competition before.
A tough opener against 2018 finalists Croatia is followed by a meeting with a strong Belgian team, with both sides looking to make the most of what could be their final World Cups with key players.
Their final group game will be against a talented Canada on December 1, led by Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, in a game that could just as easily be a dead rubber as it could be a crucial decider.
FIXTURES
November 23: Morocco vs. Croatia (10am, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor)
November 27: Belgium vs. Morocco (1pm, Al-Thumama Stadium, Al-Thumama)
December 1: Canada vs. Morocco (3pm, Al Thumama Stadium, Al-Thumama)
HOW THEY QUALIFIED
The Moroccans made the notoriously difficult African route to World Cup qualification look relatively straightforward, as they won all six of their group games by an aggregate score of 20-1.
Drawn alongside Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Sudan, the world's 22nd-ranked nation had no issues against their lower-ranked opponents, as Ayoub El Kaabi and Ryan Mmaee scored nine goals between them, only to be snubbed by the new manager for his 26-man squad.
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The Atlas Lions then took on DR Congo for qualification, battling to a 1-1 draw in Kinshasa, before blowing their opponents away with a 4-1 win in Casablanca.
Twenty-two-year-old Angers midfielder Azzedine Ounahi scored a brace, opening the scoring with an excellent first-time drive from the edge of the area, before Tarik Tissoudali and Achraf Hakimi put the gloss on a fantastic result for the North African nation.
Tissoudali has since ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, and so will unfortunately miss out on Qatar, but the likes of Youssef En-Nesyri and Sofiane Boufal will look to step into his goalscoring shoes.
RECENT FORM
Since qualifying for the World Cup, Morocco have also begun the long road to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, having played two games in Group K of the qualification process.
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Much like their World Cup group, Regragui's side have so far been too strong for their lower-ranked opponents, beating South Africa 2-1, and Liberia 2-0, with Sevilla forward En-Nesyri scoring in both games.
More recently, the manager was able to give debuts to the likes of Abde and Walid Cheddira in friendlies against Chile and Paraguay.
Following a 2-0 win and a 0-0 draw in those encounters, his side have conceded just once in their last five outings, as the North African side arrive in Qatar in solid form.
SQUAD
اللائحة الرسمية لأسود الأطلس 🦁
— Équipe du Maroc (@EnMaroc) November 10, 2022
Squad list complete ✅🇶🇦#DimaMaghrib 🇲🇦 #AtlasLions #TeamMorocco pic.twitter.com/X7n747e5Vx
Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla), Munir (Al-Wehda), Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (Wydad)
Defenders: Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain), Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich), Romain Saiss (Besiktas), Nayef Aguerd (West Ham), Achraf Dari (Brest), Jawad El Yamiq (Real Valladolid), Yahia Attiat-Allah (Wydad), Badr Benoun (Qatar SC)
Midfielders: Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina), Selim Amallah (Standard Liege), Abdelhamid Sabiri (Sampdoria), Azzedine Ounahi (Angers), Bilel El Khanouss (Genk), Yahya Jabrane (Wydad)
Forwards: Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea), Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla), Sofiane Boufal (Angers), Zakaria Aboukhlal (Toulouse), Abde Ezzalzouli (Osasuna), Amine Harit (Marseille), Ilias Chair (Queens Park Rangers), Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Ittihad), Walid Cheddira (SSC Bari)
STAR PLAYER - ACHRAF HAKIMI
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Having represented Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain in his six years as a senior player, there are few players in Morocco's history with a CV to match their flying full-back.
With two goals and an assist to his name for the French champions this campaign, Hakimi's pace and eye for goal makes him a constant threat down the right-hand side.
For his country, the right-back delivered 20 crosses, completed 19 tackles, won a penalty and scored two crucial goals throughout an all-action Africa Cup of Nations campaign last year.
Curling home two sensational free kicks, Hakimi not only rescued a late draw against Gabon, but secured a 70th-minute winner against Malawi in the round of 16, as his superstar quality shone through.
As Mazraoui now joins him on the other side of a defence, likely to consist of Romain Saiss and Nayef Aguerd, the Moroccans have real quality in defence, with Hakimi set to be a crucial weapon as he bombs down his flank.
MANAGER - WALID REGRAGUI
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While Regragui has only been Morocco's coach for just over two months, the former full-back seems to have made a very positive start to life in the hot seat.
After bringing both Ziyech and Mazraoui in from the cold, the 47-year-old is yet to see his side concede in his opening two games.
Spending most of his playing career in France, he made 91 appearances in Ligue 1 across spells with Grenoble, Ajaccio and Toulouse, before spending a season in Spain with Racing Santander.
As a manager, Regragui spent six years at Moroccan top-flight club FUS Rabat, guiding the side to a first-ever league title.
He also became just the second Moroccan manager to ever win the African Champions League, leading Wydad to the trophy in May 2022.
Having impressed in the domestic game, the Atlas Lions have taken a chance on Regragui after the turbulent end to the reign of his Bosnian predecessor Halilhodzic. It will be fascinating to see if the country's first Moroccan manager in over six years will inspire a successful run in international football's biggest competition.
WORLD CUP RECORD
Best finish: Last 16 (1986)
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Before finishing bottom of Group B in 2018, Morocco had not qualified for the World Cup in 20 years, underlining the excitement ahead of the tournament in Qatar.
Losing their first game in Russia via a 95th-minute own goal, before Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal of the game in their defeat to Portugal, Herve Renard's men were much more competitive than their singular point suggested.
En-Nesyri actually gave his side a late lead over Spain in the final group game, before Iago Aspas grabbed a dramatic 91st-minute equaliser, to snatch a historic win away from the Moroccans.
In their four other entries to the competition, the North Africans were thrice eliminated from the group stages, except in 1986, when the Atlas Lions famously topped a group including England, Portugal and Poland, before falling to eventual finalists West Germany in the knockouts.
PREDICTION
Perhaps the most talented group of Moroccan players in recent memory, with a manager who looks to be uniting the squad, optimism is high heading into their fifth-ever World Cup.
Progressing to the knockout stages will certainly be the aim for Regragui's men, although they face stern competition from all three of their Group F opponents.
The returns of Ziyech and Mazraoui, alongside the quality of Hakimi, Sofiane Boufal and Amine Harit, mean that the Moroccans are capable of launching a realistic push for qualification, even against more experienced nations.
However, we ultimately expect them to miss out on a last-16 spot, with the fading golden generations of Belgium and Croatia finishing above them.
VERDICT: Third in Group F
