2026 FIFA World Cup: CAF Releases Statement on Morocco After AFCON 2025 Drama
- CAF has published a statement about Morocco ahead of their participation at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- The Atlas Lions are one of the 10 African representatives at the expanded 48-nation World Cup in North America
- Morocco heads into the tournament as the declared winners of AFCON 2025 despite losing 1-0 in the final
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has published a statement about Morocco ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Morocco is one of the 10 African representatives at the tournament in the first edition of the expanded 48-nation World Cup in North America.
Source: Getty Images
Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Tunisia, Cote d'Ivoire, South Africa, DR Congo and debutant Cape Verde are the other representatives.
How Morocco qualified for World Cup
The Atlas Lions had a flawless qualifying campaign in Group E of the CAF series, which also has Zambia, Congo Republic, Niger, Tanzania and Eritrea, which withdrew.
Morocco played eight matches after Eritrea’s withdrawal and won all, scoring 22 goals and conceding only eight under former boss Walid Regragui.
Regragui resigned after losing the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, before CAF stripped Senegal of the title and awarded it to Morocco.
Mohamed Ouahbi will lead the North Africans to the Mundial and faces a Group C, which has record winners Brazil, Scotland and Haiti.
CAF backs Morocco for more history
Morocco reached the semi-final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, becoming the first African nation to reach the last four in the history of the tournament.
CAF published a statement on its website praising the Atlas Lions as the continent’s pride and backing them for more history at the 2026 edition.
“Their 2022 run was not only a Moroccan achievement. It became a continental moment, a campaign that gave supporters across Africa a sense that the barriers at the World Cup had been broken,” a part of the statement reads.
Yassine Bounou eyes more history
Though some of the top stars of the 2022 historic run, including Romain Saiss, Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri, are no longer part of the team, goalkeeper Yassine Bounou stands ready to lead the team again.
Source: Getty Images
The 35-year-old Saudi-based goalkeeper claimed that the quality of their team remains despite the absence of some of the stars of 2022, and the team still retains the right mentality.
“The quality of the players is still there. The right mindset will also be there because it’s a World Cup, and every player dreams of playing in it. For some, this might be the last one. For others, it will be their first time,” Bounou told FIFA.
Morocco heads into the tournament as disputed African champions as their legal battle with Senegal over the AFCON 2025 winner rages on.
CAF releases statement on Senegal
Legit.ng previously reported that CAF released a statement on the Teranga Lions of Senegal ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
Senegal is one of the two teams, alongside Morocco, claiming to be African champions heading into the World Cup as the legal tussle continues.
Source: Legit.ng
