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Morocco A' national football team

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Morocco local football team
Nickname(s)The Atlas Lions
AssociationFRMF (Morocco)
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Head coachHussein Ammouta
CaptainBadr Benoun
Most capsAbdelilah Hafidi (25)
Top scorerAyoub El Kaabi (14)
FIFA codeMAR
First colours
Second colours
African Nations Championship
Appearances5 (first in 2014)
Best resultChampions (2018, 2020)

The Morocco A' national football team (Arabic: منتخب المغرب لكرة القدم للمحليين) is the local national football team of Morocco and is open only to domestic league players.[1] It has won the African Nations Championship twice (2018 and 2020).

The primary men's Morocco national football team contains expatriate players and represents Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations.

History

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The Local Atlas Lions were eliminated in the qualifiers for the first two editions of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in 2009 and 2011, before qualifying for the first time to the CHAN in the 2014 edition, which was hosted in South Africa instead of Libya, who were initially supposed to organize the only continental national competition for local players.

During their first participation in the competition, the Moroccans, led by coach Hassan Benaabicha (who, in replacement of Rachid Taoussi, was asked to manage the team just a few days before the start of the final tournament), did not make it past the second round. Rachid Taoussi had been behind the qualification of the Moroccans to the competition, but did not have the chance to go further than that, as he was replaced by Benaabicha, who had done well in various regional and international competitions at the time with other lower categories Moroccan national teams.

The first two matches for the Moroccans in the tournament were 0–0 and 1–1 draws against Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, respectively. It was only after the third match that the Local Atlas Lions could ensure qualification to the second round, after beating Uganda 3–1. In the quarter-finals, Morocco were beaten surprisingly by Nigeria 3–4, after leading 3–0 in the first half.

In 2016, it was another Moroccan coach, with the famous name of Mohamed “El General” Fakhir, who led the Moroccans to qualification for the second consecutive time at the CHAN, which was organized in Rwanda. However, this was even worse than their previous tournament run, with the Atlas Lions eliminated in the first round after finishing third in their group.

The team's final match, an astonishing 4–1 win against host country Rwanda, could not prevent the Moroccans' elimination; they had already suffered a scoreless draw against Gabon and a 0–1 defeat against the Ivory Coast in their first two matches.[2]

However, Moroccan fans could enjoy not only the hosting of the CHAN in the kingdom two years later in 2018,[3] but also a tournament victory for their local national team, which became the third North African country to win the competition's title, after Tunisia, winners in 2011, and Libya in 2014.[4] The road was not easy for Moroccan players, who were coached by Jamal Sellami in 2018, as they had to face strong, experienced African National teams, especially in the semi-final and final matches. In the group phase, the path was easier, with a 4–0 victory against Mauritania followed by a second 3–1 win against Guinea, before a scoreless draw against Sudan in the final group match. The Local Atlas Lions finished top of their group with 7 points out of 9 to advance to the quarter-finals, where they beat Namibia 2–0 in Casablanca.[5][6]

On 31 January 2018, Al Mountakhab made history, as they qualified for the final match of the CHAN for the first time in their history after beating 2014 title winners Libya 3–1 at the Mohamed V stadium in Casablanca.[7] The final match was a flurry of Moroccan goals. Four in total were scored, by Zakaria Hadraf in both the 44th and 61st minutes, Walid El Karti in the 64th minute, as well as Ayoub El Kaabi (top scorer of the competition) in the 73rd minute, to win a first CHAN title for the kingdom.[8][9]

In February 2021, Morocco won their second title after a 2–0 win over Mali in the final in Cameroon.[10]

African Nations Championship record

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African Nations Championship record African Nations Championship qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Ivory Coast 2009 Did not qualify 4 1 2 1 5 6
Sudan 2011 2 0 2 0 3 3
South Africa 2014 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 2 1 7 6 2 1 1 0 1 0
Rwanda 2016 Group stage 10th 3 1 1 1 4 2 4 3 1 0 11 3
Morocco 2018 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 16 2 2 1 1 0 4 2
Cameroon 2020 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 15 3 2 1 1 0 3 0
Algeria 2022 Withdrew
KenyaTanzaniaUganda 2024 To be determined To be determined
Total 2 Titles 4/7 19 12 5 2 42 13 16 7 8 1 27 14

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

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Main article: Morocco A' national football team results

2022

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20 August Friendly Qatar  2–2  Morocco Vienna, Austria
Stadium: Ernst-Happel-Stadion
23 August Friendly Jamaica  0–3  Morocco Vienna, Austria
16:00 UTC+1
Stadium: Ernst-Happel-Stadion

Current team status

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2020 African Nations Championship

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Main article: 2020 African Nations Championship

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Morocco 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4 7 Knockout stage
2  Rwanda 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5
3  Togo 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
4  Uganda 3 0 1 2 3 7 −4 1
Updated to match(es) played on 22 January 2021. Source: CAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers


Morocco 1–0 Togo
 Report
Referee: Andofetra Rakotojaona (Madagascar)
Morocco 0–0 Rwanda
Report
Referee: Ahmad Heeralall (Mauritius)
Uganda 2–5 Morocco
 Report
Referee: Boubou Traore (Mali)

Quarter-finals

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Morocco 3–1 Zambia
 Report
Referee: Pacifique Ndabihawenimana (Burundi)

Semi-finals

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Morocco 4–0 Cameroon
 Report
Referee: Jean Ngambo (DR Congo)

Final

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Main article: 2020 African Nations Championship Final
Mali 0–2 Morocco
Report
Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)

Honours and awards

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Ayoub El Kaabi the best player and scorer of the 2018 African Nations Championship.

Honours

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African Nations Championship

FIFA Arab Cup

Awards

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African Nations Championship Best player

African Nations Championship Top scorer

African Nations Championship Best goalkeeper

Arab Cup Best player

Arab Cup Top scorer

Squad

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The following players were called up for the 2020 African Nations Championship in Cameroon.

Caps and goals only in the current competition, as of 7 February 2021 after the match against Mali.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Anas Zniti (1988-08-28) 28 August 1988 (age 36) 18 0 Morocco Raja CA
22 1GK Mohamed Amsif (1989-02-07) 7 February 1989 (age 35) 2 0 Morocco Fath US
12 1GK Abdelali Mhamdi (1991-10-29) 29 October 1991 (age 33) 4 0 Morocco RS Berkane
2 2DF El Mehdi Karnass (1990-03-12) 12 March 1990 (age 34) 2 0 Morocco DH Jadida
3 2DF Abdelkrim Baadi (1996-04-14) 14 April 1996 (age 28) 2 0 Morocco RS Berkane
4 2DF Ismael Mokadem (1995-07-26) 26 July 1995 (age 29) 0 0 Morocco RS Berkane
13 2DF Hamza El Moussaoui (1993-04-07) 7 April 1993 (age 31) 6 1 Morocco MA Tétouan
15 2DF Soufiane Bouftini (1994-08-03) 3 August 1994 (age 30) 7 2 Morocco HUS Agadir
23 2DF Omar Namsaoui (1990-04-04) 4 April 1990 (age 34) 4 0 Morocco RS Berkane
24 2DF Abdellah Khafifi (1993-02-19) 19 February 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Morocco MC Oujda
27 2DF Abdelmounaim Boutouil (1998-09-01) 1 September 1998 (age 26) 6 0 Morocco SCC Mohammedia
5 3MF Yahya Jabrane (1991-06-18) 18 June 1991 (age 33) 7 2 Morocco Wydad AC
6 3MF Mohammed Ali Bemammer (1989-11-19) 19 November 1989 (age 35) 11 2 Morocco IR Tanger
8 3MF Larbi Naji (1990-12-14) 14 December 1990 (age 33) 5 0 Morocco RS Berkane
10 3MF Walid El Karti (1994-07-23) 23 July 1994 (age 30) 10 4 Morocco Wydad AC
11 3MF Reda Jaadi (1995-02-14) 14 February 1995 (age 29) 1 0 Morocco Fath US
25 3MF Nawfel Zerhouni (1995-09-14) 14 September 1995 (age 29) 1 0 Morocco Fath US
31 3MF Noah Sadaoui (1993-09-14) 14 September 1993 (age 31) 4 0 India Kerala Blasters
7 4FW Zakaria Hadraf (1990-03-12) 12 March 1990 (age 34) 2 0 Morocco Raja CA
9 4FW Ayoub El Kaabi (1993-06-26) 26 June 1993 (age 31) 13 12 Morocco Wydad AC
18 4FW Abdelilah Hafidi (1992-01-30) 30 January 1992 (age 32) 25 6 Morocco Raja CA
21 4FW Soufiane Rahimi (1996-06-02) 2 June 1996 (age 28) 10 6 Morocco Raja CA
26 4FW Adam Ennafati (1994-06-29) 29 June 1994 (age 30) 2 0 Morocco MC Oujda
29 4FW Walid Azarou (1995-09-19) 19 September 1995 (age 29) 17 11 Morocco MC Oujda

Manager: Morocco Hussein Ammouta

Previous squads

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African Nations Championship squads

References

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  1. ^ "Morocco A' National football Team official page".
  2. ^ "Morocco Results". ESPN. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Morocco replace Kenya as CHAN hosts". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Morocco to host 2018 African Nations Championship amid Kenya's problems". MARCA in English. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Bencharki caps dream CHAN start for Morocco". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  6. ^ Mumbere, Daniel (18 January 2018). "CHAN 2018: Morocco, Sudan qualify for the quarter finals". Africanews. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Hosts Morocco through to CHAN final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  8. ^ "CHAN : CAN AMMOUTA BRING HOME TITLE N°2 ?".
  9. ^ "Hosts Morocco crowned CHAN champions". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  10. ^ "CHAN: Morocco sink Mali to become first team to retain title". BBC Sport. 7 February 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
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