Morocco's young guns prepare for their Olympic return after 12 years, as they look to take inspiration from their senior team's semi-final run at the 2022 World Cup to break a run of four group stage exits at the games.
Manager - Tarik Sektioui:
As a player, Sektioui may not be the first player on people’s lips when mentioning famous Moroccan footballers, but the winger forged a very decent career for himself as a player across the 90s and 00s.
Stints in France, Netherlands and Portugal were headlined by his years at AZ Alkmaar between 2004-06 and FC Porto between 2006-09.
For the latter, he won the Portuguese title three seasons on the bounce, as well as claiming the Taca De Portugal in 2009.
As well as this, he was capped 21 times by the Moroccan senior national team, scoring seven goals, including one at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.
After retiring from his playing career aged 34 in 2011, Sektioui went into management, spending most of his time in Morocco’s Botola Pro top division, alongside a brief stint in UAE and in charge of the Moroccan U19 national team in 2018 and 2019.
In February, Sektioui was appointed was appointed the Morocco U23 head coach to take charge of the 2024 Olympic Games campaign.
This was despite a successful spell for Issame Charai previously, with the Moroccan football federation citing poor performances in recent friendlies as the reason.
As a manager, this will be his first major tournament at any age group.
Story of Qualification:
Morocco qualified for the games by way of winning the 2023 U23 Africa Cup of Nations as the hosts, which is perhaps why the change of managers came as somewhat of a surprise.
The hosts went 100% in the Group Stage after wins over Guinea, Ghana and Congo, scoring a collective eight goals in the process. Following this, they got past Mali on penalties in the semis before overcoming North African rivals Egypt in extra time in the final.
Qualification for the Olympic Games was secured after the semi-final win, but proving that they were the best in class from Africa at the U23 age group will undoubtedly fill fans with confidence about their chances at the games.
Player to watch - Achraf Hakimi:
The 25-year-old PSG right-back has unquestionably been the face of Moroccan football for many years now, amidst a successful career at some of the biggest clubs in the world, including winning both Ligue 1 and Serie A.
As captain of the senior team, Hakimi accepted the task of leading the U23 team to the Olympic Games, and will add an enormous amount of quality, as well as leadership to their setup as his team chase what would be only Morocco's eighth gold medal ever at the Olympics, their first in Football.
On top of the attacking input he will be able to provide his team, Hakimi will be vitally important at marshalling his defence through some inevitably difficult periods against some quality opposition.
Predicted Lineup (4-3-3):
GK: Munir Mohamedi (Al-Wehda, Saudi Arabia)*
LB: Akram Nakach (Union De Touraga, Morocco)
CB: Mehdi Boukamir (Charleroi, Belgium)
CB: Adil Tahif (RS Berkane, Morocco)
RB: Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, France) (C)*
CM: Oussama Targhalline (Le Havre, France)
CM: Benjamin Bouchouari (St.Etienne, France)
CM: Yassine Kechta (Le Havre, France)
LW: Soufiane Rahimi (Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates) *
ST: Oussama El Azzouzi (Bologna, Italy)
RW: Ilias Akhomach (Villarreal, Spain)
(* for designated overage players)
Group B:
Morocco will face one of the tournament favourites Argentina in the Group Stage, with players such as Julian Alvarez, Lucas Beltran and Nicolas Otamendi on board as they aim to win gold for the third time.
As well as this, they will take on an Iraq side aiming to recapture the glory of their run to the semi-final in Athens 2004, and Ukraine who qualify for the first time as an independent nation.
Wednesday 24th July 2024 - Morocco v Argentina (Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, St Etienne, kick-off 2:00pm BST, Live on Discovery +)
Saturday 27th July 2024 - Morocco v Ukraine (Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, St Etienne, kick off 4:00pm BST, Live on Discovery +)
Tuesday 30th Huly 2024 - Morocco v Iraq (Allianz Riviera Stadium, Nice, kick off 4:00pm BST, Live on Discovery +)
Are Morocco tournament dark horses?
Though the North Africans face a tough opening test against Argentina, they will fancy their chances against Ukraine and Iraq due to their wider range of talent playing in Europe’s top five leagues.
On top of this, should they progress in second place (assuming Argentina top the group), then in the quarter-finals they would play the winners in what is undoubtedly the most open of the four groups in Group D (Japan, Paraguay, Israel and Mali).
Furthermore, with the momentum of winning the U23 Africa Cup of Nations behind them, plus the inclusion of Achraf Hakimi, Morocco will likely be a formidable force.
To top that off, the large Moroccan population in France will mean the team will undoubtedly be well supported by a nation that is not a host.
Ultimately, Morocco have a real chance to go deep in this tournament, and provided they navigate the group, can be expected to feature in competitive fashion in the quarter-final, and possibly as far as the semis.
