Morocco national under-23 football team

History

Summer Olympics (1964–2004)

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. 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 was the best performance of the Atlas Lions at the Olympic football tournament until 2024.

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.

First Continental Final

During the inaugural 2011 CAF U-23 Championship held in Morocco. The host nation coached by Pim Verbeek, recorded narrow 1-0 victories against both Nigeria and Algeria, before losing to Senegal. 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 to date after just 30 seconds. This marked the return of the Atlas Lions to the Olympic football tournament having missed out on qualifying in 2008. 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.

Golden generation (2022–)

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. Their campaign kicked off on a positive note with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Guinea, 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. They went on to win the semi-final against Mali and qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games. They defeated Egypt 2-1 in the final to win their first ever continental title. The team was congratulated by King Mohammed VI for their achievement.

On 29 February 2024, Tarik Sektioui was appointed head coach of the men's Olympic squad by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. In Paris 2024, Morocco debuted in group B with a 2–1 victory against Argentina, followed by a 2–1 defeat against Ukraine and a 3–0 victory against Iraq. Topping their group with six points ahead of Argentina on the head-to-head record, Morocco thus reached the knockout stage for the first time since 1972. They defeated the United States 4-0 in the quarterfinals, reaching the semifinals for the first time ever. In the semifinal, Morocco lost 2–1 against Spain. They then won 6–0 against Egypt in the third place to win the bronze medal.

Results and fixtures

;Legend

2023

• El Ouahdi
• Al-Hamawi
• Begraoui
• Jaouab
• El Ouazzani
• Gómez
• Bundgaard
• Osula
• Bech
• Nadir

2024

Maouhoub Dwomoh

• Simeone
• Rahimi
• Kryskiv
• Krasnopir
• Rahimi
• Richardson
• Rahimi
• Ezzalzouli
• Rahimi
• Akhomach
• Hakimi
• Maouhoub
• Rahimi
• F. López
• Juanlu
• Ezzalzouli
• Rahimi
• El Khannouss
• Nakach
• Hakimi

Coaching staff

Players

Current squad

• The following players were called up for the 2024 Olympic Games. Ayman El Wafi withdrew on 9 July 2024 after his club refused to release him, and was replaced by Bilal El Ouadghiri.
• Caps and goals are correct , after the match against Egypt.

• Overage player.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection. ;Notes

• PRE = Preliminary squad/standby.

Previous squads

Football at the Summer Olympics squads

• Olympics 1992 squad
• Olympics 2000 squad
• Olympics 2004 squad
• Olympics 2012 squad
• Olympics 2024 squad U-23 Africa Cup of Nations squads
• CAF U-23 2011 squad
• AFCON U-23 2023 squad Football at the Islamic Solidarity Games
• Islamic Games 2005
• Islamic Games 2013
• Islamic Games 2017
• Islamic Games 2021

Overage players in Olympic Games

Competitive record

Olympic Games

• 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

UNAF U-23 Tournament

Islamic Solidarity Games

Honours

Intercontinental

• Football at the Summer Olympics : Bronze medal (1): 2024

Continental

• U-23 Africa Cup of Nations : Winners (1): 2023 : Runners-up (1): 2011

Other

• UNAF U-23 Tournament : Runners-up (1): 2010 : Third Place (2): 2007, 2011

• Islamic Solidarity Games : Runners-up (1): 2005

• Toulon tournament : Runners-up (1): 2015

Notes

References

References

1. "Paris 2024".
2. Kasraoui, Safaa. "Moroccan Football Returns to Olympic Games After 12 Years of Absence". Morocco World News.
3. "Olympic Football Finals - Athens 2004".
4. "Morocco to host Olympic tourney". BBC Sport.
5. "Morocco, Egypt chase Olympic spot". BBC Sport.
6. "Morocco through to Olympic Games". BBC Sport.
7. "Gabon win first continental title". BBC Sport.
8. Latrech, Oumaima. (7 July 2022). "Morocco to Host U23 AFCON Tournament in 2023".
9. (8 July 2022). "CAF unveils the host country of the AFCON U-23 2023".
10. (5 May 2023). "Hosts Morocco get Ghana, Congo and Guinea at TotalEnergies U23 AFCON draw". CAF.
11. (2023-06-24). "Moroccan U-23 team beats Guinean counterpart 2-1".
12. 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".
13. (2023-06-27). "Morocco dominates Ghana with 5-1 victory, advances to U23 Africa Cup of Nations Semi-Finals".
14. (2023-07-05). "CAN U23: Morocco join Egypt in the final and qualify for the Olympic Games".
15. Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Morocco triumphs over Mali to reach final, seal Olympics berth {{!}} Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023".
16. (2023-07-08). "Morocco's U23 team crowned with African Cup of Nations".
17. 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".
18. (2023-07-09). "King Mohammed VI congratulates national U23 team for their victory, qualification to Paris '24 Olympics".
19. Kasraoui, Safaa. (10 July 2023). "U-23 AFCON: King Mohammed VI Congratulates Atlas Lions".
20. (2024-03-01). "Tarik Sektioui appointed Morocco's new U23 manager".
21. (2024-07-24). "Olympics football: Crowd trouble sees Morocco's win over Argentina delayed before play resumes".
22. MASAITI, Amira EL. (2024-07-27). "Morocco loses to Ukraine 2-1 in second Olympics football match".
23. MASAITI, Amira EL. (2024-07-30). "Morocco beats Iraq 3-0 in last Olympics group stage game, qualifying for quarterfinals".
24. Dure, Beau. (2024-08-02). "Morocco 4-0 USA: Paris Olympics men's soccer quarter-finals – as it happened". the Guardian.
25. MASAITI, Amira EL. (2024-08-05). "Morocco's Olympic dream ends with 2-1 defeat to Spain".
26. MASAITI, Amira EL. (2024-08-08). "Morocco's Olympian football team win historic bronze with 6-0 Egypt sweep".
27. (4 July 2024). "السيد طارق السكتيوي يكشف عن قائمة اللاعبين المتوجه إلى باريس". [[Royal Moroccan Football Federation]].
28. (9 July 2024). "JO Paris 2024/Maroc U23 : Ayman El Wafi annonce son forfait". Hespress.