Morocco national under-23 football team

Morocco Olympic football team (U-23)
Nickname(s)	Lions de l'Atlas; (Atlas Lions)
Association	Royal Moroccan Football Federation
Other affiliation	Moroccan National Olympic Committee
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	UNAF (North Africa)
Head coach	Tarik Sektioui
Captain	Abde Ezzalzouli
Home stadium	Various
FIFA code	MAR
First colours	Second colours
First international
	Morocco 2 – 0 Tunisia ; (Rabat, Morocco; September 6, 1960)
Biggest win
	Morocco 6 – 0 Malaysia ; (Ingolstadt, Germany; August 31, 1972)
Biggest defeat
	Hungary 6 – 0 Morocco ; (Tokyo, Japan; October 11, 1964); Records for competitive matches only.
Olympic Games
Appearances	8 (first in 1964)
Best result	Second Round (1972)
U-23 Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	2 (first in 2011)
Best result	Champions (2023)

The Morocco Olympic football team represents Morocco in international football competitions in the Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except during the Olympic Games where up to three overage players is allowed. The team is controlled by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF).

History[edit]

Morocco's first appearance was in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In a group that consisted of three teams following North Korea's withdrawal. They suffered a heavy 0-6 defeat to Hungary - Morocco's all-time heaviest defeat to date -, then lost 1-3 to Yugoslavia and were eliminated.

Their second appearance was supposed to be during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico but Morocco refused to allow its team to play against Israel in Group C due to political issues.^[1] They were eventually replaced by Ghana which lost 2-3 on aggregate to Morocco in the last qualifying round.

In the 1972 edition in Munich, Morocco reached the second round as runners-up in their group with 3 points following a goalless draw against the United States, a resounding 6-0 win against Malaysia and a 0-3 loss to hosts West Germany. In the second round, The Atlas Lions lost all three games against Denmark, Poland and the Soviet Union. However, it remains the best performance of the Atlas Lions at the Olympic football tournament to date.

Morocco came extremely close to reaching the quarter-finals in the 2004 Summer Olympics, narrowly missing out on goals scored that favored Costa Rica. Morocco were 2-1 ahead in their final group game against already-qualified Iraq thanks to goals scored by Bouabid Bouden and Salaheddine Aqqal. However, in the other game, Costa Rica's Pablo Brenes scored the fourth goal in added time to seal a 4-2 win over Portugal and qualification at Morocco's expense.^[2]

During the inaugural 2011 CAF U-23 Championship held in Morocco.^[3] The host nation coached by Pim Verbeek, recorded narrow victories against heavy favourites Nigeria and Algeria before losing to Senegal.^[4] In the semi-finals, Morocco successfully secured a spot in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London by defeating Egypt 3-2 in a tense game which also saw Abdelaziz Barrada scoring the fastest goal in the history of the tournament (as of 2023) after 30 seconds. This marked the return of the Atlas Lions to the Olympic football tournament having missed out on qualifying in 2008.^[5] However, they faced a setback when they suffered a 2-1 defeat against the surprising contender, Gabon, in the final held at the Marrakech Stadium.^[6]

First continental title[edit]

On 7 July 2022, Morocco were awarded the hosting rights of the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, marking the return of the U-23 team to the competition for the first time in 12 years.^[7]^[8]^[9] Their campaign kicked off on a positive note with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Guinea,^[10] followed by a resounding 5-1 triumph over Ghana, emerging as group winners and securing a place in the semifinals with one game to spare.^[11]^[12] They went on to win the semi-final against Mali and qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games.^[13]^[14] They defeated Egypt 2-1 in the final to win their first ever continental title.^[15]^[16] The team was congratulated by King Mohammed VI for their achievement.^[17]^[18]

On 29 February 2024, Tarik Sektioui was appointed head coach of the men's Olympic squad by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.^[19]

Results and fixtures[edit]

Legend

Win Draw Lose Voided or Postponed Fixture

2023[edit]

22 March 2023 Friendly	Morocco	2–3	Ivory Coast	Rabat, Morocco
	El Ouahdi 16' Saibari 40'	[1]		Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah Attendance: 0

24 March 2023 Friendly	Morocco	2–0	Togo	Rabat, Morocco
	Chadli 86' Maurer 90+2'	Report		Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah Attendance: 0

27 March 2023 Friendly	Morocco	3–0	Uzbekistan	Rabat, Morocco
	Saibari 58', 62' Haimoud 77'	[2]		Stadium: Stade Moulay Hassan Attendance: 0

16 June 2023 Friendly	Morocco	4–1	Mauritania	Rabat, Morocco
	Salah 20', 44' Taha 89', 90+1'	[3]		Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah Attendance: 0

20 June 2023 Friendly	Morocco	3–1	Zambia	Rabat, Morocco
	El Ouazzani 36', 60' Saibari 87'	[4]	Siankombo 71'	Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah Attendance: 0

24 June 2023 2023 U-23 AFCON GS	Morocco	2–1	Guinea	Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1	Ezzalzouli 68' (pen.), 90+8' (pen.)	Report	Bah 45+2'	Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah Referee: Omar Abdulkadir Artan (Somalia)

27 June 2023 2023 U-23 AFCON GS	Morocco	5–1	Ghana	Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1	Richardson 7' Saibari 13' Begraoui 30', 53' Ezzalzouli 48'	Report	Adams 43'	Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah Referee: Patrice Mebiame (Gabon)

30 June 2023 2023 U-23 AFCON GS	Congo	0–1	Morocco	Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1		Report	Taha 7'	Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah Referee: Mahmoud Nagi (Egypt)

4 July 2023 2023 U-23 AFCON SF	Morocco	2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	Mali	Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1	El Ouahdi 14' El Ouazzani 111'	Report	Diambou 66' Maïga 116'	Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah Referee: Pierre Ghislain Atcho (Gabon)
	Penalties
	Targhalline El Ouazzani Taha Ezzalzouli		Traoré Diambou Diallo Bah Diomandé

8 July 2023 2023 U-23 AFCON Final	Morocco	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Egypt	Rabat, Morocco
	Begraoui 37' Targhalline 105'	Report	Saber 10'	Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)

7 September 2023 Friendly	Morocco	1–0	Brazil	Fez, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1	El Ouahdi 73'			Stadium: Fez Stadium Referee: Sow Sandigui (Senegal)

11 September 2023 Friendly	Morocco	Cancelled	Brazil	Fez, Morocco
				Stadium: Fez Stadium

12 October 2023 Friendly	Morocco	0–1	Iraq	Casablanca, Morocco
		Report	Al-Hamawi 42'	Stadium: Père Jégo Stadium

16 October 2023 Friendly	Morocco	3–1	Dominican Republic	Casablanca, Morocco
	Begraoui 60' Jaouab 70' El Ouazzani 88'	Report	Gómez 36'	Stadium: Père Jégo Stadium

16 November 2023 Friendly	Morocco	0–3	Denmark	San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
15:00		Report	Bundgaard 8' Osula 16' Bech 78'	Stadium: Pinatar Arena

21 November 2023 Friendly	Morocco	1–0	United States	San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
15:00	Nadir 31'	Report		Stadium: Pinatar Arena

Competitive record[edit]

Olympic Games record[edit]

Olympic Games
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
Until 1988	See Morocco national football team
1992	Round 1	15	3	0	1	2	2	8
1996	did not qualify
2000	Round 1	16	3	0	0	3	1	7
2004	Round 1	10	3	1	1	1	3	3
2008	did not qualify
2012	Round 1	11	3	0	2	1	2	3
2016	did not qualify
2020	did not qualify
2024	Qualified
2028	to be determined
2032	to be determined
Total	Round 1	5/9	12	1	3	8	8	21

Prior to the Barcelona 1992 campaign, the Football at the Summer Olympics was open to full senior national teams.

U-23 Africa Cup of Nations[edit]

U-23 Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances: 2
Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
2011	Runners-up	5	3	0	2	6	5
2015	did not qualify
2019	did not qualify
2023	Champions	5	4	1	0	12	5
Total	2/4	10	7	1	2	18	10

UNAF U-23 Tournament[edit]

UNAF U-23 Tournament
Appearances: 3 / 4
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
2006	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2007	3rd Place	3
2010	Runners-up	2	3	2	0	1	6	3
2011	3rd Place	3	2	0	1	1	1	2
2015	Postponed

Islamic Solidarity Games[edit]

Football at the Islamic Solidarity Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2005	Silver Medal	2nd	5	2	2	1	4	2
2010	Cancelled
2013	Gold Medal	1st	4	3	0	1	6	3
2017	Group stage	5th	3	1	2	0	2	1
2021	Group stage	5th	3	1	1	1	5	4
2025	TBD
Total	1 title	4/4	15	7	5	3	17	10

Coaching staff[edit]

Position	Name
Head coach	Tarik Sektioui
Assistant coach	Youssouf Hadji
Assistant coach	Fahd El Ouarga
Goalkeeping coach	Laurent Deraedt
Fitness coach	Grégory Delhomel
Video Analyst	Damien Januel
Technical director	Chris Van Puyvelde

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following players were called up for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations from 24 June to 8 July 2023 in Morocco.

Coach: Issame Charaï

The final squad was announced on 9 June 2023.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
1	1GK	Alaa Bellaarouch	(2002-02-01)1 February 2002 (aged 21)	Racing Strasbourg B
2	2DF	Omar El Hilali	(2003-09-12)12 September 2003 (aged 19)	Espanyol Barcelona
3	2DF	Chadi Riad	(2003-06-17)17 June 2003 (aged 19)	FC Barcelona
4	2DF	Redouane Halhal	(2003-03-05)5 March 2003 (aged 20)	HSC Montpellier B
5	2DF	Ayman El Wafi	(2004-05-11)11 May 2004 (aged 19)	FC Lugano
6	3MF	Benjamin Bouchouari	(2001-11-13)13 November 2001 (aged 21)	AS Saint-Étienne
7	4FW	Couhaib Driouech	(2002-04-17)17 April 2002 (aged 21)	Excelsior Rotterdam
8	3MF	Ismael Saibari	(2001-01-28)28 January 2001 (aged 22)	PSV Eindhoven
9	4FW	Amine El Ouazzani	(2001-07-15)15 July 2001 (aged 21)	EA Guingamp
10	4FW	Ibrahim Salah	(2001-08-30)30 August 2001 (aged 21)	Stade Rennais FC
11	4FW	Zakaria El Ouahdi	(2001-12-31)31 December 2001 (aged 21)	RWD Molenbeek
12	1GK	Elias Mago	(2004-03-23)23 March 2004 (aged 19)	Standard Liège
13	4FW	Yanis Begraoui	(2001-07-04)4 July 2001 (aged 21)	FC Toulouse
14	3MF	Oussama Targhalline	(2002-05-20)20 May 2002 (aged 21)	AC Le Havre
15	2DF	Mehdi Boukamir	(2004-01-26)26 January 2004 (aged 19)	RSC Charleroi
16	4FW	Abde Ezzalzouli (captain)	(2001-12-25)25 December 2001 (aged 21)	FC Barcelona
17	3MF	Oussama El Azzouzi	(2001-05-29)29 May 2001 (aged 22)	Union SG
18	2DF	Ayoub Amraoui	(2004-05-14)14 May 2004 (aged 19)	OGC Nice
19	2DF	Zakaria Labib	(2003-02-28)28 February 2003 (aged 20)	Raja Club Athletic
20	4FW	Hamza Igamane	(2002-11-02)2 November 2002 (aged 20)	AS FAR
21	4FW	Abde Raihani	(2004-02-03)3 February 2004 (aged 19)	Atlético de Madrid
22	1GK	Rachid Ghanimi	(2001-04-25)25 April 2001 (aged 22)	Rapide Oued Zem
23	3MF	Bilal El Khannouss	(2004-05-10)10 May 2004 (aged 19)	KRC Genk
24	3MF	Amir Richardson	(2002-01-24)24 January 2002 (aged 21)	Stade Reims
25	4FW	Younes Taha	(2002-11-27)27 November 2002 (aged 20)	FC Twente
26	2DF	Akram Nakach	(2002-04-07)7 April 2002 (aged 21)	Union Touarga
27	1GK	Hakim Mesbahi	(2003-12-19)19 December 2003 (aged 19)	AS FAR

Previous squads[edit]

Football at the Summer Olympics squads

CAF U-23 Championship squads

CAF U-23 2011 squad

Football at the Islamic Solidarity Games

Overage players in Olympic Games[edit]

Tournament	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3
2000	El Houssaine Ouchla (DF)	Adel Chbouki (MF)	Salaheddine Bassir (FW)
2004	Nadir Lamyaghri (GK)	Otmane El Assas (MF)	Bouchaib El Moubarki (FW)
2012	Houssine Kharja (MF)	Nordin Amrabat (FW)	did not select

Honours[edit]

U-23 Africa Cup of Nations

Winners (1): 2023

Runners-up (1): 2011

UNAF U-23 Tournament

Runners-up (1): 2010

Third Place (2): 2007, 2011

Toulon tournament

Runners-up (1): 2015

Mediterranean Games

Third Place (1): 1991

Islamic Solidarity Games^[20]

Runners-up (1): 2005

References[edit]

^ Kasraoui, Safaa. "Moroccan Football Returns to Olympic Games After 12 Years of Absence". Morocco World News. p. 1.
^ "Olympic Football Finals - Athens 2004". www.goalzz.com. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
^ "Morocco to host Olympic tourney". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
^ "Morocco, Egypt chase Olympic spot". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
^ "Morocco through to Olympic Games". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
^ "Gabon win first continental title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
^ Latrech, Oumaima (7 July 2022). "Morocco to Host U23 AFCON Tournament in 2023". Morocco World News. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
^ "CAF unveils the host country of the AFCON U-23 2023". AfrikPage. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
^ "Hosts Morocco get Ghana, Congo and Guinea at TotalEnergies U23 AFCON draw". CAF. 5 May 2023.
^ "Moroccan U-23 team beats Guinean counterpart 2-1". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-06-24. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
^ Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "TotalEnergies U23 AFCON: Morocco secure semi-final berth with impressive win over Ghana | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
^ "Morocco dominates Ghana with 5-1 victory, advances to U23 Africa Cup of Nations Semi-Finals". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-06-27. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
^ "CAN U23: Morocco join Egypt in the final and qualify for the Olympic Games". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
^ Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Morocco triumphs over Mali to reach final, seal Olympics berth | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
^ "Morocco's U23 team crowned with African Cup of Nations". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-08. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
^ Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Morocco win maiden TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations title with victory over Egypt | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
^ "King Mohammed VI congratulates national U23 team for their victory, qualification to Paris '24 Olympics". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-09. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
^ Kasraoui, Safaa. "U-23 AFCON: King Mohammed VI Congratulates Atlas Lions". moroccoworldnews. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
^ "Tarik Sektioui appointed Morocco's new U23 manager". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
^ "Islamic Games". Rsssf. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.

[1] Kasraoui, Safaa. "Moroccan Football Returns to Olympic Games After 12 Years of Absence". Morocco World News. p. 1.

[2] "Olympic Football Finals - Athens 2004". www.goalzz.com. Retrieved 2024-01-14.

[3] "Morocco to host Olympic tourney". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.

[4] "Morocco, Egypt chase Olympic spot". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.

[5] "Morocco through to Olympic Games". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.

[6] "Gabon win first continental title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.

[7] Latrech, Oumaima (7 July 2022). "Morocco to Host U23 AFCON Tournament in 2023". Morocco World News. Retrieved 1 August 2022.

[8] "CAF unveils the host country of the AFCON U-23 2023". AfrikPage. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.

[Draw-9] "Hosts Morocco get Ghana, Congo and Guinea at TotalEnergies U23 AFCON draw". CAF. 5 May 2023.

[10] "Moroccan U-23 team beats Guinean counterpart 2-1". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-06-24. Retrieved 2023-06-28.

[11] Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "TotalEnergies U23 AFCON: Morocco secure semi-final berth with impressive win over Ghana | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-06-28.

[12] "Morocco dominates Ghana with 5-1 victory, advances to U23 Africa Cup of Nations Semi-Finals". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-06-27. Retrieved 2023-06-28.

[13] "CAN U23: Morocco join Egypt in the final and qualify for the Olympic Games". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2023-07-06.

[14] Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Morocco triumphs over Mali to reach final, seal Olympics berth | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-07-06.

[15] "Morocco's U23 team crowned with African Cup of Nations". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-08. Retrieved 2023-07-09.

[16] Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Morocco win maiden TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations title with victory over Egypt | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-07-09.

[17] "King Mohammed VI congratulates national U23 team for their victory, qualification to Paris '24 Olympics". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-09. Retrieved 2023-07-12.

[18] Kasraoui, Safaa. "U-23 AFCON: King Mohammed VI Congratulates Atlas Lions". moroccoworldnews. Retrieved 2023-07-12.

[19] "Tarik Sektioui appointed Morocco's new U23 manager". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-03-01.

[20] "Islamic Games". Rsssf. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.

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