Like Ivory Coast in 2024, Morocco aspires to win the next CAN on its soil from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026. After brilliant qualifiers, the Atlas Lions are eagerly awaited to win a second continental title.
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In 2015, Morocco, which was to be the organizing country, had repeatedly asked the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to postpone the CAN because of the Ebola epidemic. The supreme body of African football had refused and disqualified the Atlas Lions. Equatorial Guinea hosted the continental tournament.
Ten years later, Morocco has become a flagship country in African football, notably with its semi-final during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
An extraordinary bench
2025 will be an important year for the Moroccans who hope to shine at home during this CAN which they are organizing for the second time after 1988. Above all, the Lions have been waiting to lift the trophy since… 1976, an eternity. In 2004, they were beaten in the final by Tunisia.
Contenders for the continental title in Ivory Coast in January 2024, the Moroccans were eliminated by South Africa in the round of 16 (2-0). After a controlled group stage, marked by two victories against Tanzania and Zambia, and a draw against the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Moroccans were surprised by the South Africans. Having fallen from a height, they have since recovered.
During the qualifiers for the next CAN, the men of Walid Regragui have totaled six wins in six games, scoring 26 goals and conceding two. The nugget Brahim Diaz, who plays for Real Madrid, has been decisive in each of the last six matches he has played with Morocco. He finished as the top scorer in the playoffs with seven goals. Eliesse Ben Seghir (Monaco), also succumbed to the attractiveness of the fourth in the last world championship. A well-stocked bench, a young team, Morocco is normally well prepared for its CAN at home.
The continent’s most prolific attack in 2024
“ I wasn’t worried even after the African Cup, I’m not euphoric now (after the playoff performance, Editor’s note). I know that there is work, that we are expected, and that after this World Cup (2022, Editor’s note) it will always be more difficult with each match. We are demanding with Morocco and we are right to be so because we have talent. (…) I know very well what we are capable of doing, but also that we still have some flaws. It will be filled with a few players who will still join us », Walid Regragui recently declared on Canal +.
Highly appreciated by the players, in particular team leaders like Achraf Hakimi, Sofyan Amrabat and Romain Saïss, Morocco chose to keep the coach despite the failure of the CAN with the Elephants. “ The Royal Moroccan Football Federation renews its confidence in Walid Regragui to lead the next stage, providing him with all means of support and accompaniment in order to achieve the status that national football in general and the national team in particular deserve », We could read in a press release at the end of the tournament in Ivory Coast.
With 44 goals in 2024, Morocco has been the most prolific attack on the continent. The Atlas Lions lead their group in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. In 2025, Hakim Ziyech and his teammates will still want to be at the center of the game.