From Mexico 1970 to Qatar 2022: The greatest Morocco World Cup matches

World Cup 2026 Today at 13:14

Khaled Hegazy

News Editor

13.06.26 18:00 World Cup

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Morocco systematically transformed from continental hopefuls into global giants through decades of historic World Cup breakthroughs.

Setting the standard in Mexico

The national team's World Cup journey kicked off in 1970 in Mexico. Facing a formidable West Germany side, the North Africans shocked the global football community when Houmane Jarir opened the scoring in the 21 minute.

While the European powerhouses eventually engineered a 2-1 comeback victory, the Atlas Lions earned immediate international respect.

They followed that performance by securing a hard fought 1-1 draw against Bulgaria, courtesy of a clinical finish from Maouhoub Ghazouani.

This result was deeply symbolic representing the first ever World Cup point earned by an African nation on the global stage.

The generation of 1986

Sixteen years later, back on Mexican soil, Morocco orchestrated one of the most stunning group stage campaigns in tournament history.

Drawn into a brutal group alongside England, Poland and Portugal, they completely defied the odds. The defining moment of that era arrived during a legendary 3-1 dismantling of Portugal.

Abderrazak Khairi netted a brilliant first half brace and Abdelkrim Merry "Krimau" added a spectacular third to seal the result.

The victory made Morocco the first African and Arab nation to ever top a World Cup group and reach the round of 16. Their fairytale run ended with extreme honor in the knockout stage where they pushed West Germany to the absolute limit, only falling to a heartbreaking 88 minute Lothar Matthäus free kick.

Drama, heartbreak and pride

The 1994 tournament in the United States brought immense frustration highlighted by a painful 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in an intense, all Arab group clash.

Four year later in France, the Atlas Lions rebounded with breathtaking attacking football demolishing Scotland 3-0.

Yet, joy turned to immediate heartbreak when Norway pulled off a controversial, late 2-1 upset against Brazil, cruelly dumping Morocco out of the tournament despite their emphatic victory.

After a 20 year absence from the big dance, the team returned for Russia 2018. Despite an early exit from a grueling group, they left with their heads held high following a thrilling 2-2 draw with Spain where a thumping Youssef En-Nesyri header was only canceled out by a late, VAR approved Iago Aspas equalizer in stoppage time.

The unprecedented magic of Qatar 2022

Everything clicked into place during the winter of 2022 in Qatar under the tactical guidance of Walid Regragui.

After holding Croatia to a tactical stalemate, the Atlas Lions triggered a global footballing earthquake by defeating Belgium’s golden generation 2-0, thanks to strikes from Abdelhamid Sabiri & Zakaria Aboukhlal.

A clinical 2-1 victory over Canada sealed the top spot in the group with an impressive seven point.

In the round of 16, Morocco faced Spain in a defensive masterclass. Following a grueling 0-0 draw after extra time, goalkeeper Yassine Bounou became a national hero by saving multiple penalties allowing Achraf Hakimi to seal a historic 3-0 shootout victory with an incredibly cool "Panenka" penalty.

They carried that momentum into the quarterfinals against Portugal where En-Nesyri scored an extraordinary towering header to seal a 1-0 win.

This result made Morocco the first African and Arab team to ever reach a World Cup semifinal capturing global hearts before finally falling 2-0 to reigning champions France.

Rewriting the underdog blueprint

Morocco's historic fourth place finish in Qatar completely rewrote the blueprint for modern tournament underdogs.

Statistically their defensive record during that 2022 run was borderline miraculous, they kept four clean sheets against top tier European opposition conceding only a single unpreventable own goal against Canada prior to the semifinal stage.

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