“I won’t prepare any differently for a match against Brazil – we have our own philosophy.”
With this declaration before his side's opening match at the , Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi made it clear that his side had undergone a profound transformation. The team's subsequent performance during the game, which ended , further underlined the point.
The performance was nothing like the displays they had produced at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, when they shocked the world by reaching the semi-finals. This time, they took the initiative and more often than not the ball could be found at the feet of the Moroccan players rather than the Brazilians. They put their opponents under pressure. The hunter had become the hunted.
The performance against the five-times winners summed up Morocco’s evolution. The team that reached the last four in Qatar thanks largely to their patience, organisation and knack for striking at exactly the right moment is now calling the shots. They no longer wait for the door to open – they knock it down themselves.
This is the imprint of Ouahbi, the man who took charge just three months before the tournament in North America as successor to Walid Regragui, the architect of Morocco’s glorious run in Qatar. Having guided Morocco to the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2025™ title, Ouahbi has reshaped the senior side in no time at all, establishing a new playing style.
The 50-year-old said before facing Brazil: “We have to recognise that Morocco are living through the finest technical era in their footballing history.”
For Morocco, dominating possession and taking the attacking initiative are not about imitating another school of football, nor about aesthetic appeal. Instead, they are part of a project to build a style that stems from the qualities of the Moroccan footballer: technically gifted, quick on the turn, brave in receiving the ball and physically equipped to keep moving and pressing.
Ahead , Ouahbi explained: “We have skill and pace, so we needed the right approach. We now we have a distinctive identity, so it won’t be difficult to explain to the players how I want them to play.”
One hallmark of today’s elite teams is their ability to move the ball quickly into the final third without rushing the finish. More often than not, a team are more likely to score from developing a move further rather than shooting early.
This is a principle Ouahbi has worked hard to instill in his players’ thinking. “I’m not telling them not to shoot from outside the box,” he said. “But since we’re getting into the penalty area so often, and we’ve become one of the teams with the most touches inside it, why would we shoot from long range?”
That composure was never more evident than against the Netherlands, the birthplace of Total Football. The Atlas Lions dominated possession by a clear margin. When the Dutch grew more cautious after taking the lead, Morocco continued to dictate the tempo, tightening their grip on the contest without losing focus or resorting to hopeful long balls.
Their technical superiority over the Netherlands, followed by the comeback before , boosted the team’s confidence. Noussair Mazraoui explained it to FIFA after the match: “They’re one of the best teams you can face. So the fact that we came away with the victory today is a great source of pride for us.”
Of course, a new style also requires players capable of bringing it to life, and Ouahbi has been fortunate to find more than one piece to complete the picture. Chief among them is one of the breakout stars of the 2026 World Cup, 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi, who made his senior international debut against Brazil.
The Lille youngster has caught the eye with his ability to link the lines, his composure under pressure and his exceptional reading of the game – qualities Ouahbi needed to cement the Atlas Lions’ new identity. With other players who were not part of the Qatar 2022 squad – such as Brahim Diaz, Ismael Saibari, Nayef Aguerd and Chadi Riad – Morocco now have the tools to seize the initiative in matches and go toe-to-toe with the strongest sides in the tournament.
The most important aspect of this transformation is that it has not erased the old Morocco, it has built upon it. The side that now dominates possession and takes the initiative has not lost its ability to drop deep when the match demands it, nor the mental toughness that defined it in Qatar.
That was evident against Canada. After Azzedine Ounahi’s opening goal, Morocco deliberately dropped deep to exploit the hosts’ eagerness to push forward, a strategy that yielded two more goals. While the new faces have brought Mohamed Ouahbi’s ideas to life, several pillars of the Qatar 2022 success still form the backbone of this team, led by Yassine Bounou, Achraf Hakimi and Ounahi, preserving the fighting spirit that fuelled that historic run.
After knocking the Netherlands out on penalties, Bounou said: “I think you’ve seen in our matches that the players are playing with tremendous passion, just as we did in 2022. The team still has the same mindset.”
Blending the winning mentality and fighting spirit first instilled by Regragui with a new identity built on greater possession, bolder initiative and more patient build-up play has produced a side that looks more complete than ever before.
The toughest test, however, still lies ahead, as the Atlas Lions prepare to face 2018 world champions and 2022 runners-up France in Boston on 9 July. It is a match that will reveal just how well Ouahbi can balance the legacy of the Morocco that stunned the world four years ago with the new identity he is building in North America.
Sources: FIFA Official
