ATLANTA, GEORGIA – JUNE 24: Soufiane Rahimi #9 of Morocco celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group C match between Morocco and Haiti at Atlanta Stadium on June 24, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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Tyler Erzberger

By Tyler Erzberger

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When Morocco made the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup, my mind flew back 20 years prior when both South Korea (the host) and Turkey made shock runs to the final four of the tournament.

Would Morocco end up like those two nations, who have not come close to that degree of success since, or would this budding African giant be different?

After another group stage advancement, it appears to be the latter.

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TOPSHOT - Morocco's defender #02 Achraf Hakimi controls the ball during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) round of 16 football match between Morocco and Tanzania at Prince Moulay Abdallah Stadium in Rabat on January 4, 2026. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP via Getty Images)

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Expectation

Pre-Tournament Ranking: #12

I was not sleeping on Morocco entering the tournament, having them firmly as one of the stronger non-traditional powerhouse nations to contend for the trophy this summer. In a group with Brazil, and that being their first game, a lot of attention was put on that match to see if either team could gain advantage in the opener.

Dropping points to either Haiti or Scotland would have been considered a huge folly.

Reality

To be honest, Morocco did almost exactly how I thought they would. They came out super fast against Brazil with a goal and eventually ended up tying with the five-time champions. Then, after that draw, they beat both Scotland and Haiti in back-to-back games, with the final match against Haiti putting a bit of a scare in them before scoring a late goal to make it a comfortable 4-2 victory.

Morocco's reward for having a strong group stage with two wins and a draw? A date with most likely Netherlands in the Round of 32. For most teams in the tournament, even group winners, that would be a death sentence. For the strongest team in Africa, however, they might be one of the only few teams who can bring the fight to the Dutch.

Final Grade: B+

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