Unforgettable Underdog World Cup Runs: Morocco 2022
- therookiereporters
- Jan 17
- 4 min read
The latest World Cup was memorable for many things. Messi’s triumph at last, Mbappe’s endless effort to retain France’s champion status, Netherlands vs Argentina…However, no one expected Morocco to stand against the world’s best, writing their own history. In this article, we’ll be running their World Cup miracle back!
Morocco’s history with football began in 1957, when the Royal Moroccan Football Federation was founded. The federation joined FIFA in 1960 and entered their first qualification phase for the 1962 World Cup. Their first World Cup run was in 1970, which concluded with elimination after the group stage. Until 2020, they appeared in 4 more World Cups in 1986, 1994, 1998 and 2018. The most successful run from those was 1986, when they reached the round of 16. Under Walid Regragui’s management in 2022, the Atlas Lions reached the group stage unbeaten, eliminating Mali and DR Congo in the process.
Morocco had been drawn into Group F alongside Belgium, Croatia and Canada. Most people considered Belgium and Croatia as favourites to reach the knockout stages, but Regragui’s men had other plans. In matchday 1, they got a goalless draw against Luka Modric’s Croatia with some promising moments. Belgium rose as the next challenge and Morocco made a statement as one of the bronze medalists of the 2018 World Cup. Romain Saïss opened the scoreline in the 73rd minute from a dead-ball organisation and Zakaria Aboukhlal pulled the plug with the second goal, concluding a 2-0 win. They won their last game of the group stage against Canada as well, reaching the knockout stage for the second time and as the group leaders. Their stalwart defence was the centre of the attention of their excellent group stage run.
Some would say that Morocco’s group was challenging enough, but their real challenges were yet to come in the knockout stages. In the round of 16 and quarter-finals, they faced their neighbours from the Iberian Peninsula, Spain and Portugal. Due to the history shared between them, they are no strangers to one another and it’s common to see Moroccan players who are dual-citizens from one of these countries, like Brahim Diaz for example. First, it was Spain’s turn in the round of 16. Spaniards put Morocco under a lot of pressure with their quick passing and high-possession style of football, threatening the Moroccan fortress many times. However, the Atlas Lions stood up to Spain for 120 minutes. The world witnessed the heroic performance of Yassine Bounou, not letting a single shot in, even in the penalties, as Morocco went through to their first-ever quarter-finals appearance. The quarter-finals were reached by an African team before, but none has ever seen the next round. In order to achieve that feat, Morocco had to beat Portugal, who were dealing with some complications about benching Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite coming to this round without Mazraoui and Aguerd at defence, En-Nesyri’s towering header in the 42nd minute, combined with Diogo Costa’s mistake, sealed the result of the match. Morocco became the first African country to ever reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. Bounou was once again praised with his crucial saves, while CR7 went home empty-handed in tears. Regragui’s man management played a crucial role in rallying his players against the world’s finest.
In the semi-finals, the defending world champions were waiting for the Atlas Lions, France stood between Morocco and the World Cup final. However, the task was way harder this time, because withstanding the shot power of Spain and Portugal took a heavy toll on Morocco’s defence. Aguerd was missing once again and they also lost Saïss and Mazraoui, again, through injury during the France game. The tired and weakened Moroccan defence cracked open in the early minutes with Theo Hernandez scoring the opener. They were denied some great opportunities by Hugo Lloris and the goal post, but they couldn’t prevent Kolo Muani from scoring France’s deciding goal. This result sent Morocco into the Third Place Play-Off game against Croatia, the journey’s end was gonna be decided by the team that started it. Despite not being able to score against them in the first game, Croatia didn’t let the Atlas Lions keep a clean sheet again and clinched the bronze medal with a 2-1 victory. Morocco was sent home empty-handed, but heads high with the greatest achievement in the history of African football. Walid Regragui’s team earned the respect of football fans around the world.
In a nutshell, Morocco has put in an unforgettable performance in the 2022 World Cup at Qatar. The Atlas Lions will return to the World Cup scene in 2026, alongside Brazil, Scotland and Haiti in Group C. Morocco will also be one of the co-hosts in 2030, which makes 4 consecutive World Cup appearances for the country. As their historic run is still fresh in memory, many curious eyes will be on them, wondering if they can make similar runs or maybe something even better.
Article written by Emre Albas © Emre Albas 2026
