Morocco national football team players

Morocco take on Portugal in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals as Walid Regragui masterminded an incredible penalty shootout win over Spain in the Round of 16. The Atlas Lions has impressed in Qatar, Regragui has created a solid platform for his squad at the World Cup with the best defensive record of teams left in the competition, with Nayef Aguerd's own goal the only effort conceded in four matches. Morocco's squad has been hailed for its unity and Regragui has looked to call on players based across Europe, and to those born outside of Morocco. MORE: Which Morocco players were born in other countries? Regragui's 26-man squad includes just 12 players born in Morocco, the lowest ratio in the competition, with players originating from Spain, Canada, France, the Netherlands and Belgium, all named in his final panel. Each player has their own story behind opting to represent Morocco, over a different option, with some moving to Morocco as children, and others opting to represent their parents' birth nation. Ma nation ❤️🇲🇦 Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou moved to Casablanca as a 3-year-old, after being born to Moroccan parents in Canada, with Madrid-born key defender Achraf Hakimi coming through the ranks at Real Madrid, and French born-captain Roman Saiss qualifying via his Moroccan father. Morocco's 2022 World Cup Squad - Born outside Morocco Player Birth Year Birth Location Morocco Caps Caps for other nations Yassine Bounou 1991 Montreal, Canada 48 — Munir Mohamedi 1989 Cueta, Spai...

We know that most of you already have a rooting interest in the World Cup. But that’s probably just habit. SB Nation has devised a quiz based on your style of sports fandom that will *scientifically decide which team you really should be rooting for. *no actual science was used Of the 26 players representing The Atlas Lions, 14 were born outside of the country, more than any other team that has competed intros years World Cup. On their way to the semifinals, they drew with fellow semifinalist Croatia, defeated Belgium 2-0 and beat Canada 2-1 in the knockout stages. Morocco then defeated Spain 3-0 in the Round of 16 in penalties, defeated Portugal 1-0 in the quarterfinals, and have a date with destiny against France today in the semis. Outside of Croatia and Portugal, there has been at least one Moroccan player who has faced the country of their birth. While 12 of Morocco’s players were born in the country, two were born in Spain, one was born in Italy, two in France, one in Canada, and four were born in both the Netherlands and Belgium. The most high-profile instance of a Moroccan player facing up against their country of birth in this World Cup was Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi against Spain. He scored an audacious panenka against his country of birth, Spain, to send Morocco through into the next round. Hakimi grew up in Madrid and played in “I think I made the decision to play for Morocco because it’s where my parents come from, how they raised me in a Moroccan, Mu...

Achraf Dari and Walid Cheddira of Morocco celebrate after the 1-0 win during the quarterfinal match between Morocco and Portugal at Al Thumama Stadium on Saturday in Doha, Qatar. Justin Setterfield/Getty Images Elite World Cup teams often speak of dancing — finding their rhythm and joy in a crucible of pressure. But Morocco's players say they're living a dream — and their run in Qatar has "We can dream, why shouldn't we dream about winning the World Cup?" "We had a dream, of course," Fans from Morocco cheer for victory in the stands after the quarterfinal between Morocco and Portugal at Al-Thumama stadium. Tom Weller/picture alliance via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Tom Weller/picture alliance via Getty Images Morocco's fans have been among the loudest in Qatar, willing their team to withstand onslaughts from some of the game's best players, from Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne and Croatia's Luka Modrić to Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo. Al Aoula TV YouTube Morocco's defense has been lights out The Moroccan defense hasn't allowed any of its opponents to score in Qatar — the sole goal it conceded came on an odd own-goal, against Canada. It hasn't lost a match at the World Cup, setting the tone early after starting play with a nervy 0-0 draw with 2018 runner-up Croatia. Morocco's back line is anchored by Achraf Hakimi, a versatile defender who was born in Spain and plays professionally for the famed French club And goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, a.k.a. Bono, has been clutch,...

Few football fans would have even predicted the North African nation stood much chance of making it out of their group, given it also contained European royalty in the form of Croatia and Belgium. Yet a series of stubborn and clinical displays carried Morocco through to a runners-up berth. Following a goalless draw with the former, the Atlas Lions stunned Belgium 2-0, before booking their spot in the last-16 with a win against Canada. Their solid defensive displays (Morocco conceded just once in the group stage) has continued into the knockouts. Spain were held to a bore-draw across 120 minutes. Morocco were expected to crumble when the penalties began but, once again, they held their nerve. A 3-0 victory in the shootout sent them through to their first-ever World Cup quarter-final. In the quarter-finals, a strong defensive display saw them overcome Portugal 1-0 to book their place in the final four. However, after creating history by becoming the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final, their dream came to an end with a 2-0 loss to France. Nonetheless, Morocco are still aiming to achieve their highest finish possible in the third-place play-off against Croatia - succeed, and they'll go down as heroes among the majority of the continent. Morocco World Cup 2022 squad Morocco World Cup 2022 squad: The final 26-man team • GK: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla) • GK: Munir El Kajoui (Al Wehda) • GK: Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (Wydad Casablanca) • DF: Nayef Aguerd (West Ham United) ...