Mohamed Ouahbi said his side are "operating on another level" after confirming their spot in the FIFA World Cup 2026™, with Atlas Lions players Yassine Bounou and Chadi Riad sharing their coach’s confidence.
Morocco – scoring four goals in a World Cup match for the first time – to secure progress from Group C; the North Africans have now claimed five wins across the past two editions of the tournament after managing two in all their previous appearances combined.
Having now experienced three World Cups, goalkeeper Bono has seen Morocco evolve from outsiders in 2018 to semi-finalists at Qatar 2022 and now a side that expects to compete with the very best.
"It's something really special and, above all, it's exciting," Bono told FIFA after the Haiti game. "I think as a team we're improving, although that doesn't always show in the results, because winning depends on so many things. Hopefully luck will be on our side and we can go a long way."
Morocco's success is not built solely on the heroes of 2022. Fourteen members of the current squad were born in 2000 or later, but only Azzedine Ounahi and Bilal El Khannouss experienced the country's run to the 2022 semi-finals. After guiding Morocco to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025™ title, Ouahbi understands better than anyone the depth of young talent now pushing through.
Among the players making their World Cup bow is 23-year-old Chadi Riad. Having started all three of Morocco’s matches, the Crystal Palace centre-back spoke to FIFA about a shared sense of purpose in the Moroccan camp.
"We’re doing some great things and we’re all pulling in the same direction. I’m really happy and proud of the team,” he said. “They did a great job in 2022 and it means we have some fantastic role models. They are the players we look up to. We don’t want to fall short of that performance - we want to be like them. We are a young team, but a very ambitious one.”
It is a view also held by Bono, who was part of the journey four years ago and remains an important part of the squad today.
"I think that in the matches we have played, you can see the players playing with a lot of heart, just as we did in 2022,” the experienced goalkeeper added. “The team is still the same. We more experienced players have to keep passing that on and hope the results go our way."
In March 2022, when Ouahbi made his debut as Morocco U-20 coach in a 2-2 friendly draw with Romania, Redouane Halhal, Riad and El Khannouss were all part of the team. Just over four years later, all three started in the .
While they may now be operating on another level, the Moroccan players know exactly where they stand and are united in their one common goal.
Sources: FIFA Official
