Morocco wrote a historic chapter in the 2026 World Cup. During the 1-1 draw against Brazil at MetLife Stadium in New York, the Atlas Lions became the first team in World Cup history to simultaneously field 11 players born outside their country.
The milestone occurred in the 65th minute when Samir El Mourabet, born in Strasbourg, entered, completing an eleven made up entirely of footballers born in France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada.
The registration is not a coincidence but the result of a systematic scouting policy that Morocco began in 2010 following the main promises of Moroccan origin trained in European clubs. Figures such as Achraf Hakimi born in Madrid, Yassine Bono born in Montreal and Brahim Díaz born in Málaga They are the clearest example of how this strategy led the Atlas Lions to fourth place in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the best historical result for an African team. Coach Mohamed Ouahbi was direct about it. “We do not want to wait for the 2030 World Cup to be world champions. Morocco is going to try in 2026.”he stated.
The recruitment work continues with a view to the future with several recently nationalized under-21 players, among which the Belgians Rayane Bounida and Saif Eddine Lazar and the Dutch Benjamin Khaderi and Ayoub Ouarghi, trained in clubs such as Ajax PSV and Feyenoord, stand out. Morocco does not plan to stop on its way to becoming one of the most important teams in the world in the coming tournaments.
The 11 players born outside Morocco
- Bonus — Montreal, Canada
- Noussair Mazraoui — Leiderdorp, Netherlands
- Issa Diop — Toulouse, France
- Chadi Riyadh — Palma, Spain
- Achraf Hakimi — Madrid, Spain
- Neil El Aynaoui — Nancy, France
- Ayyoub Bouaddi — Senlis, France
- Chemsdine Talbi — Sambreville, Belgium
- Bilal El Khannouss — Molenbeek, Belgium
- Samir El Mourabet — Strasbourg, France
- Ismael Saibari — Terrassa, Spain
Morocco’s milestone against Brazil reflects that the Atlas Lions have built more than just a soccer team. They have built a continental identity project that embraces their diaspora and turns it into their greatest competitive strength.