Morocco at the 2026 World Cup: The 2022 Semifinalist Returns — Full Preview

Morocco arrives at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as FIFA #15, the 2022 World Cup semifinalist (the first African team ever to reach a World Cup semifinal), the 2024 AFCON quarterfinalist, and one of the most-tactically-disciplined teams in international football.

Walid Regragui, the manager who took Morocco to the Doha 2022 semifinal, is still in charge. The squad — Achraf Hakimi, Hakim Ziyech, Sofyan Amrabat, Noussair Mazraoui, Nayef Aguerd — is largely intact, with new additions like Ismael Saibari and Bilal El Khannouss providing youth.

This is the complete Morocco preview: the squad, the Regragui system, the Pingry School base camp, the Group draw, and the model's read on whether 2022's run was a flash or a baseline.

The 30-second summary

FIFA ranking: #15
Manager: Walid Regragui (since August 2022, the 2022 World Cup semifinal manager)
Base camp: The Pingry School, Basking Ridge NJ — elite private school
Group-stage travel: 1,930 miles total
Recent record: 2024 AFCON quarterfinal exit (lost to South Africa on penalties). 13-3-1 since 2022 World Cup.
Key players: Achraf Hakimi (27), Hakim Ziyech (33), Sofyan Amrabat (29), Noussair Mazraoui (28), Yassine Bounou (35)
Predicted finish: Round of 16 or quarterfinal — top-12 is the model's modal outcome

The 2022 legacy

Morocco's 2022 World Cup run was historic. They beat Spain in the Round of 16 on penalties. They beat Portugal in the quarterfinal. They lost to France 2-0 in the semifinal but were 5 minutes from extra time. They beat Croatia in the third-place playoff (briefly) before losing the bronze match.

The 2022 run accomplished things no African team had ever done: semifinal, top-4 finish, beating two European football heavyweights (Spain + Portugal) in single-elimination.

The question every Morocco fan wants answered: was 2022 the ceiling, or was it the foundation? Walid Regragui's tactical setup has not significantly changed since 2022. The squad has largely the same identity. If anything, the 2026 squad is slightly younger (Hakimi 27, Mazraoui 28) than 2022 was.

The squad

Forwards:

Hakim Ziyech (Galatasaray, 33) — the attacking #10, the technical leader
En-Nesyri (Sevilla, 29) — the #9, target striker
Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos, 33) — the rotation forward
Hamza Igamane (Rangers, 22) — the rising attacker
Bilal El Khannouss (Leicester, 21) — the next-generation creative attacker
Eliesse Ben Seghir (Monaco, 20) — the rising winger

Midfield:

Sofyan Amrabat (Fenerbahçe, 29) — the defensive midfielder anchor
Azzedine Ounahi (Marseille, 26) — the box-to-box
Ismael Saibari (PSV Eindhoven, 24) — the rising creative midfielder
Selim Amallah (Leipzig, 29) — the rotation #8

Defense:

Achraf Hakimi (PSG, 27) — the captain, the best right-back in international football
Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United, 28) — the left-back / right-back hybrid
Nayef Aguerd (West Ham, 30) — the centerback
Romain Saïss (Al-Shabab, 36) — the experienced centerback

Goalkeeper: Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal, 35) — the legendary "Bono," the 2022 hero who saved Spain's penalties.

The defensive question: Hakimi-Mazraoui-Aguerd-Saïss-Bounou is one of the best defensive units in the tournament, period. Morocco conceded just 5 goals in 7 matches at the 2022 World Cup.

Regragui's tactical identity

Walid Regragui took over in August 2022, three months before the World Cup. His tactical setup is the most-disciplined in the tournament:

5-4-1 / 5-3-2 fluid — defensively first, counterattack through Hakimi's right side
Low block + organized counter — the antithesis of high-pressing chaos
Set-piece focus — Morocco scores 22% of corners (tournament-leading) and concedes the fewest set-piece goals (1 in 7 matches at 2022)
Penalty preparation — Morocco won 2 penalty shootouts at the 2022 World Cup

This is the Atlético Madrid playbook applied to international football. Morocco has the most-resilient defensive base in the tournament outside of Spain or France.

The Pingry School base camp

Morocco chose to base at the Pingry School in Basking Ridge, NJ — an elite K-12 private school with FIFA-grade pitches, 240-acre campus, college-prep facilities. Among the most-comfortable bases in the tournament.

The numbers:

1,930 miles total group-stage travel — among the easiest of any team
Climate: Northern New Jersey in June/July is 80-87°F, manageable humidity
Proximity: 30 miles from MetLife Stadium (the final venue), 90 minutes from Philadelphia/Lincoln Financial

The Pingry base is the third-shortest travel of any non-host team (after Mexico, Paraguay, Panama). Morocco's logistics are excellent.

Tournament path

Morocco's group depends on the draw and is currently in Group J (per the December 2025 group draw):

Morocco (FIFA #15)
Croatia (FIFA #11) — the marquee group match
Norway (FIFA #45) — Haaland's first WC
Ivory Coast (FIFA #41)

The likely knockout path:

Round of 32: Third-place qualifier — heavy Morocco favorite
Round of 16: Group I runner-up (the Group of Death runner-up — likely Senegal or Norway)
Quarterfinal: A top-5 team

Morocco's full schedule →

What the prediction model says

Probability of reaching the Round of 16: 62%
Probability of reaching the quarterfinal: 28%
Probability of reaching the semifinal: 10%
Probability of winning the World Cup: 2%

Case for Morocco:

The 2022 semifinal proves they can win knockout matches against top-5 opposition
Hakimi-Mazraoui-Aguerd-Bounou is one of the best defensive bases in the tournament
Regragui has now had 4 years to refine the system
Pingry's geography means short travel + easy recovery

Case against:

Hakim Ziyech at 33 is the team's creative center and has been inconsistent for club
The 2022 semifinal run had several penalty-shootout-driven results — variance was kind
Group J has Croatia (the same vintage 2018 finalist), so winning the group isn't guaranteed

Where to watch + quick links

US English: FOX/FS1. US Spanish: Telemundo. UK: BBC/ITV. Morocco/Maghreb: Al Aoula (free over-the-air). Full streaming + TV guide →