Morocco’s historic run at the Qatar World Cup 2022 is remembered by some poignant, powerful and indelible images from their quarterfinal win over Portugal: a towering header – the match-winning goal by Youssef En-Nesyri – against Cristiano Ronaldo’s side, Hakim Ziyech’s mazy dribbles that put the 2016 European champions in a spin, and Soufiane Boufal’s dance with his mother on the pitch in the heartwarming post-match celebrations.

Four years on, none of those players have made the trip to the World Cup in North America.

In fact, the only holdovers from that memorable tournament are Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui, Azzedine Ounahi, Bilal El-Khanouss and the goalkeepers.

The then-celebrated manager, Walid Regragui, has been cast aside, too.

Despite the radical changes, Morocco are yet to lose a match and have advanced to the Round of 16 after dispatching the Netherlands in a nervy penalty shootout on Monday.

Comparisons between the classes of 2022 and 2026 were inevitable. They began at the end of the group stage, when it was pointed out that the Moroccan team of four years ago topped their group while this one failed to beat Haiti and Scotland by big enough margins to leapfrog Brazil in Group C.

In order to truly impress the critics, the current generation may need to match or improve the semifinal run of 2022.

Morocco of 2022: Experience and defensive tactics

In 2022, the tactical plan was simple yet effective.

Head coach Regragui was an emergency appointment following Bosnian manager Vahid Halilhodzic falling out with several players.

Regragui had less than three months before the start of the World Cup to select his players and implement a tactical plan. Realising that time was not on his side, he kept things simple.

“Regragui’s team was more defensive,” Mohammad Alrfae, an analyst for Jordanian Premier League side Al Ahli SC, told Al Jazeera.

“He had older, more experienced players from big European sides at his disposal.”

In spite of their technical ability, the team showed no interest in dominating possession under Regragui during Qatar 2022. In fact, their highest possession percentage came in the only match they lost – against France in the semifinal.

Morocco, under Regragui, were not as negative as some other sides employing the same tactics. They set their backline midway between their goal and midfield, as opposed to clustering deep in what is referred to as a low block but ceded possession in order to lure the opposition into their traps.

En-Nesyri, the striker of the 2022 team won plaudits for his relentless work rate in preventing the opposition centre-backs from making easy passes to the midfield and forcing opposing teams into wide areas.

Wider areas of the pitch were packed with standout players. The full-backs, who are still part of the 2026 team, Noussair Mazraoui and Hakimi teamed up with wingers and aimed to win the ball and launch dangerous counter-attacks.

So effective were Morocco in blocking service to the middle areas of the pitch that opponents – particularly Portugal in the 1-0 quarterfinal loss – dropped deep to receive the ball, inhibiting their ability to attack.

But what happened when Morocco faced lower-ranked teams?

At two successive Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments, Morocco failed to lift the trophy, with an exit in the Round of 16 (2023) and a 1-0 loss in the 2025 edition, which they hosted.

The final was a particularly testy affair, with Senegal seeing a goal ruled out in the dying moments of the match before Morocco were awarded a penalty.

Incensed, the Senegalese marched off the pitch. Although Morocco missed the penalty and lost the match 1-0, they were declared AFCON champions after the on-field result was declared void and Morocco were handed a 3-0 forfeit by CAF.

The result was later reversed and Morocco were declared champions under contentious circumstances.

To make matters worse, Morocco faced a tournament-long allegation that the referees favoured Morocco. The hosts did not help their cause by requesting and receiving a change of referee before their quarterfinal encounter against Cameroon.

Morocco of 2026: Faith in youth and offence

Despite the controversial AFCON win, pressure kept mounting on Regragui with fans comparing the senior team with younger, more successful Moroccan sides.

Under the junior team manager Tarek Sektioui, Morocco bagged a bronze-medal finish at the Paris Olympics 2024, as well as lifting the winners’ trophies at the African Nations Championship 2024 and the FIFA Arab Cup 2025 with completely different squads.

Similarly, Mohammed Ouhabi enjoyed success with the youth team by winning the FIFA Under-20 World Cup 2025.

In a moment of deja vu, a last-minute coaching change was made in the lead-up to the World Cup. Regragui was out and Ouhabi was in with the aim of playing an expansive, rather than defensive, brand of football.

According to Alrfae, squad selection has been the biggest indicator of change.

“Ouhabi has picked a lot of young players,” adding: “Partially because he knows them but also because they fit his tactical approach.”

Ouhabi relies on mobile players, all with lower profiles, who constantly switch positions and rotate around the pitch.

The younger squad, with their nimble movements, made an instant impact in the World Cup, recording an impressive 1-1 draw against Brazil in their opening game.

Experts believe it’s all part of a long-term plan.

“I think Morocco made this change with an eye on the World Cup they will be hosting in 2030,” North African football journalist Maher Mezahi told Al Jazeera.

Indeed, the average age of Morocco’s starting XI has hovered just below 26 years of age. None of the outfield starters are over 30 and half of them are 25 or younger.

In their Round of 32 match, Morocco forced the Dutch to abandon their style of play and field five defenders to neutralise Morocco’s fluid movements.

The change, according to Mezahi, was “an implicit admission” that Morocco were the stronger team.

“The result proves that the 2022 World Cup was not a fluke and it also proves that replacing Regragui with Ouhabi was the right decision,” Mezahi added.

From fairytale darlings to divisive contenders

The AFCON 2025 final caused a seismic shift in the mood amongst neutral supporters across Africa and the Arab World.

Support for the Atlas Lions sank to an all-time low.

In Africa, Morocco was seen as wielding too much power within the halls of the African Football Confederation (CAF).

With its glittering new stadiums, the country has served as a stand-in home for African countries that cannot host matches due to instability or lack of facilities that meet CAF’s requirements.

Over the last four years Liberia, Niger and Congo have all played home qualifiers against Morocco in Morocco instead of their respective home grounds, allowing the 2030 World Cup co-hosts to avoid notoriously difficult away fixtures.

But the result against Brazil in this World Cup has done wonders to win back some of the alienated neutral support.

For the first time, an Arab and African team took the game to one of the world’s great football powers and record five-time champions.

It has also cemented Morocco’s status as the best Arab and African team at the World Cup for the second time in four years.

Although nine of 10 African teams and three of eight Arab teams progressed to the knockouts, only four remain.

Amid the gloom, Morocco reminded the African and Arab fans why they could still win football matches and mend broken hearts, just as they did four years ago.

This time, it was the viral video of Noussair Mazraoui with his arm around Gessime Yassine telling him to pray and thank Allah for his debut goal against Haiti. It was touching to see the strong ties the players maintain with their religion and culture, despite being foreign-born and raised.

The mums made a return too. Ismail Saibari, who struck the winning penalty for Morocco against the Netherlands, ran to the stands to celebrate with his mother in a tearful embrace.

Yassine Bono, one of the heroes from 2022, was back flashing his famous smile and winning over fans during the tense penalty shootout that never seemed to faze him.

A lot has changed since the last World Cup in Qatar for the Atlas Lions. Despite the ups and downs, more supporters are jumping back on Morocco’s bandwagon as they again make a push for the final stages of the tournament.

It is a testament to their consistency that Morocco will start as heavy favourites against Canada in the Round of 16 on Saturday. Should they achieve their desired result, the African giants could have their 2022 nemesis and this World Cup’s red-hot team France waiting in the quarterfinals. (Al Jazeera)

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