Welcome to one of my national team previews! I’m a particularly demented type of fan due to my obsession for the international game. Whatever team you’re about to read about, I have watched hours of them. All of my opinions come strictly from their own competitive games; I pay little mind to friendlies and zero mind to what their players do at club level.
You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
That's the story of Morocco, the team that over 3 years ago captured the hearts of the world only to show their ass the past 6 months & become the most hated international team on the planet. It was building for a while, too, for anyone paying attention before 2026. The historic World Cup semifinal run clearly got to their head; pair that with Men's World Cup hosting rights as just one of many FIFA presents to this federation & suddenly they think they're a God-given gift to the game.
The team itself has honestly improved, even, since 2022 but their perception has done a complete 180. The success of the last Men's World Cup was always going to put a target on their back. After their AFCON circus, though, it's the first target that every team in the world *wants* to aim for.
Morocco like to rock with a 4-1-4-1 with the catalyst points of attack being those outside backs, Hakimi & Mazraoui. They love an out & out 9 in the middle surrounded by a mix of a couple of offball runners & a couple of tempo-dictators. Objectively one of the most balanced teams in terms of roles. Doubt you see any other team at the World Cup play through their fullbacks as much as Morocco:
Over the past few years, however, Morocco have had the challenge of becoming possession-oriented as everybody in Africa started to sit against them. Their years-long transition to this culminated in a huge call in the Winter: sitting hero Sofyan Amrabat for the new kid Neil El Aynaoui. The change was night & day, but key to Morocco reaching the final instead of crashing out in the Round of 16 like in 2024. Amrabat is a tremendous centerback defender, but limited on the ball. El Aynaoui runs the game like Vitinha with less free reign to leave his starting position.
Morocco's 6 being counterattack-squashing Amrabat vs. Morocco's 6 being regista El Aynaoui:
Hakimi is "the star", sure, but Brahim Diaz is the talisman who has already put the nation on his back again & again to score result-deciding goals especially when the rest of the team is struggling to do damage to a parked bus. He inverts from the right as Hakimi overlaps for a deadly combo. Time & time & time again Brahim has been delivering game winners for Morocco this cycle:
My Worry
The pressure wasn't on in 2022; it was dialed up to and 8 or 9 out of 10 the moment they left Qatar. After they claim the recent AFCON that they failed to win at Home, that pressure meter is well beyond the maximum of 10. The pressure already cracked them in that final, it can again here.
In classic fashion of a team that thinks they're far better than they actually are, they also encouraged the fucking manager from their magical 2022 World Cup run out the door. His record in competitive games after 90'? 24-6-3. Not one regulation loss in official competition since January 2024.
Mr. Brightside’s take
Morocco had a great runway to learn how to dictate games, while their overall structure keeps it very easy for them to reel it back in at any moment to get back in their bag from 2022. They can still be the same team that is brutal for favorites to play against.
The set piece excellence that they established in 2022 has remained about as consistent as it reasonably can; Amrabat is a guy I would trust in an instant to step back onto the field to command a low block; they have seemingly every genre of player on this squad.
In a vacuum, they're excellent.
My Final Take
It's just a fucking joke, the way the men of this federation run the place. They look in the mirror & see the international equivalent of Real Madrid ever since the 2022 semifinals. It's tough for me to stay objective because I am a first-ballot early hater of this group. Sure, firing a coach months prior to the last Men's World Cup happened to work wonders. But it's a completely different ballgame when all eyes are on you this time.
Also, it's not just eyes. It's pitchforks & torches & swords.
As amazing as it would feel to see this band of dipshits get grouped, don't hang any hopes on quite that bad of a performance. But as early as the Round of 32 could cause issues for these guys - a lot of weight needs to be put on the psychology of the way they're perceived by everybody else.
Celebrating Morocco's inevitable knockout, whenever it comes, will probably be the moment that unifies World Cup fans more than any other this summer. Let's all cheer each other on as we take swings at this proverbial pinata & see who can deliver the sweet, sweet final blow.
Thanks for reading!
Find me constantly posting about international soccer on my main & my content account:
