Morocco national under-23 football team

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Morocco Under-23 (Olympic)
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Lions de l'Atlas
(Atlas Lions)
AssociationRoyal Moroccan Football Federation
Other affiliationMoroccan National Olympic Committee
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationUNAF (North Africa)
Head coachTarik Sektioui
CaptainAbde Ezzalzouli
Home stadiumPrince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
FIFA codeMAR
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Morocco 2–0 Tunisia 
(Rabat, Morocco; 6 September 1960)
Biggest win
 Morocco 6–0 [[Massachusetts {{{altlink}}}|Massachusetts]] 
(Ingolstadt, West Germany; 31 August 1972)
Biggest defeat
 Hungary 6–0 Morocco 
(Tokyo, Japan; 11 October 1964)
Records for competitive matches only.
Olympic Games
Appearances8 (first in 1964)
Best resultSecond Round (1972)
U-23 Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances2 (first in 2011)
Best resultChampions (2023)

The Morocco national under-23 football team, also known as the Morocco Olympic football team, represents Morocco in international football competitions in the Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except during the Olympic Games where up to three overage players is allowed. The team is controlled by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF).

History[edit]

Morocco's first appearance was in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In a group that consisted of three teams following North Korea's withdrawal. They suffered a heavy 0-6 defeat to Hungary - Morocco's all-time heaviest defeat to date -, then lost 1-3 to Yugoslavia and were eliminated.

Their second appearance was supposed to be during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico but Morocco refused to allow its team to play against Israel in Group C due to political issues.[1] They were eventually replaced by Ghana which lost 2-3 on aggregate to Morocco in the last qualifying round.

In the 1972 edition in Munich, Morocco reached the second round as runners-up in their group with 3 points following a goalless draw against the United States, a resounding 6-0 win against Malaysia and a 0-3 loss to hosts West Germany. In the second round, The Atlas Lions lost all three games against Denmark, Poland and the Soviet Union. However, it remains the best performance of the Atlas Lions at the Olympic football tournament to date.

Morocco came extremely close to reaching the quarter-finals in the 2004 Summer Olympics, narrowly missing out on goals scored that favored Costa Rica. Morocco were 2-1 ahead in their final group game against already-qualified Iraq thanks to goals scored by Bouabid Bouden and Salaheddine Aqqal. However, in the other game, Costa Rica's Pablo Brenes scored the fourth goal in added time to seal a 4-2 win over Portugal and qualification at Morocco's expense.[2]

During the inaugural 2011 CAF U-23 Championship held in Morocco.[3] The host nation coached by Pim Verbeek, recorded narrow victories against heavy favourites Nigeria and Algeria before losing to Senegal.[4] In the semi-finals, Morocco successfully secured a spot in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London by defeating Egypt 3-2 in a tense game which also saw Abdelaziz Barrada scoring the fastest goal in the history of the tournament (as of 2023) after 30 seconds. This marked the return of the Atlas Lions to the Olympic football tournament having missed out on qualifying in 2008.[5] However, they faced a setback when they suffered a 2-1 defeat against the surprising contender, Gabon, in the final held at the Marrakech Stadium.[6]

First continental title[edit]

On 7 July 2022, Morocco were awarded the hosting rights of the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, marking the return of the U-23 team to the competition for the first time in 12 years.[7][8][9] Their campaign kicked off on a positive note with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Guinea,[10] followed by a resounding 5-1 triumph over Ghana, emerging as group winners and securing a place in the semifinals with one game to spare.[11][12] They went on to win the semi-final against Mali and qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games.[13][14] They defeated Egypt 2-1 in the final to win their first ever continental title.[15][16] The team was congratulated by King Mohammed VI for their achievement.[17][18]

On 29 February 2024, Tarik Sektioui was appointed head coach of the men's Olympic squad by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.[19]

Results and fixtures[edit]

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Voided or Postponed   Fixture

2023[edit]

16 June Friendly Morocco  4–1  Mauritania Rabat, Morocco
  • Salah 20', 44'
  • Taha 89', 90+1'
 [1] Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
Attendance: 0
20 June Friendly Morocco  3–1  Zambia Rabat, Morocco
 [2]
Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
Attendance: 0
24 June 2023 U-23 AFCON GS Morocco  2–1  Guinea Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
Referee: Omar Abdulkadir Artan (Somalia)
27 June 2023 U-23 AFCON GS Morocco  5–1  Ghana Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
Referee: Patrice Mebiame (Gabon)
30 June 2023 U-23 AFCON GS Congo  0–1  Morocco Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1 Report Taha 7' Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
Referee: Mahmoud Nagi (Egypt)
4 July 2023 U-23 AFCON SF Morocco  2–2 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)		  Mali Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
Referee: Pierre Ghislain Atcho (Gabon)
Penalties
8 July 2023 U-23 AFCON Final Morocco  2–1 (a.e.t.)  Egypt Rabat, Morocco
 Report
Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)
7 September Friendly Morocco  1–0  Brazil Fez, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1
Stadium: Fez Stadium
Referee: Sow Sandigui (Senegal)
11 September Friendly Morocco  Cancelled  Brazil Fez, Morocco
Stadium: Fez Stadium
12 October Friendly Morocco  0–1  Iraq Casablanca, Morocco
Report
Stadium: Père Jégo Stadium
16 October Friendly Morocco  3–1  Dominican Republic Casablanca, Morocco
 Report
Stadium: Père Jégo Stadium
16 November Friendly Morocco  0–3  Denmark San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
15:00 Report
Stadium: Pinatar Arena
21 November Friendly Morocco  1–0  United States San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
15:00
Report Stadium: Pinatar Arena

2024[edit]

22 March Friendly Ukraine  1–0  Morocco Antalya, Turkey
Report Stadium: Gloria Sports Arena
26 March Friendly Wales  2–0  Morocco Antalya, Turkey
Report Stadium: Gloria Sports Arena
4 June Friendly Morocco  v  Belgium Rabat, Morocco
Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
10 June Friendly Morocco  v  Kosovo Rabat, Morocco
Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium

Coaching staff[edit]

Position Name
Head coach Morocco Tarik Sektioui
Assistant coach Morocco Youssouf Hadji
Morocco Fahd El Ouarga
Goalkeeping coach Belgium Laurent Deraedt
Fitness coach France Grégory Delhomel
Video Analyst France Damien Januel
Technical director Belgium Chris Van Puyvelde

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club[a]
1GK Alaa Bellaarouch (2002-02-01) 1 February 2002 (age 22) 8 0 France Racing Strasbourg
1GK Walid Hasbi (2004-01-07) 7 January 2004 (age 20) 3 0 France Racing Strasbourg B
1GK Mohamed Reda Asmama (2002-02-08) 8 February 2002 (age 22) 2 0 Morocco Union de Touarga
1GK Rachid Ghanimi (2001-04-25) 25 April 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Morocco FUS Rabat
2DF Zakaria El Ouahdi (2001-12-31) 31 December 2001 (age 22) 13 3 Belgium Genk
2DF Ayoub Amraoui (2004-05-14) 14 May 2004 (age 20) 11 0 France Amiens
2DF Ayman El Wafi (2004-05-11) 11 May 2004 (age 20) 10 0 Switzerland Lugano
2DF Adil Tahif (2001-02-24) 24 February 2001 (age 23) 5 0 Morocco RS Berkane
2DF Mohamed Jaouab (2002-05-14) 14 May 2002 (age 22) 3 1 France Amiens
2DF Omar El Hilali (2003-09-12) 12 September 2003 (age 20) 3 0 Spain Espanyol
2DF Haytam Manaout (2001-04-18) 18 April 2001 (age 23) 2 0 Morocco Union de Touarga
2DF Akram Nakach (2002-04-07) 7 April 2002 (age 22) 1 0 Morocco Union de Touarga
2DF Adam Aznou (2006-06-02) 2 June 2006 (age 18) 1 0 Germany Bayern Munich II
3MF Benjamin Bouchouari (2001-11-13) 13 November 2001 (age 22) 9 0 France Saint-Étienne
3MF Yassine Kechta (2002-02-25) 25 February 2002 (age 22) 6 0 France Le Havre
3MF Mohamed Nassoh (2003-01-26) 26 January 2003 (age 21) 4 0 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven
3MF Amine Souane (2001-09-17) 17 September 2001 (age 22) 0 0 Morocco MC Oujda
4FW Yanis Begraoui (2001-07-04) 4 July 2001 (age 22) 13 4 France Pau
4FW Amine El Ouazzani (2001-07-15) 15 July 2001 (age 22) 12 2 France Guingamp
4FW Ibrahim Salah (2001-08-30) 30 August 2001 (age 22) 8 0 France Rennes
4FW Abde Ezzalzouli (captain) (2001-12-25) 25 December 2001 (age 22) 5 3 Spain Betis
4FW Salim El Jebari (2004-02-05) 5 February 2004 (age 20) 4 0 Spain Atlético Madrid B
4FW Tawfik Bentayeb (2002-01-14) 14 January 2002 (age 22) 2 0 Morocco Union de Touarga
4FW Montasser Lahtimi (2001-04-01) 1 April 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Morocco Wydad AC
4FW El Mehdi Maouhoub (2003-06-05) 5 June 2003 (age 20) 1 0 Morocco Raja CA

Previous squads[edit]

Overage players in Olympic Games[edit]

Tournament Player 1 Player 2 Player 3
2000
 El Houssaine Ouchla (DF) Adel Chbouki (MF) Salaheddine Bassir (FW)
2004
 Nadir Lamyaghri (GK) Otmane El Assas (MF) Bouchaib El Moubarki (FW)
2012
 Houssine Kharja (MF) Nordin Amrabat (FW) did not select

Competitive record[edit]

Olympic Games record[edit]

Main article: Morocco at the Olympics
Olympic Games
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
Until 1988 See Morocco national football team
Spain 1992 Round 1 15 3 0 1 2 2 8
United States 1996 did not qualify
Australia 2000 Round 1 16 3 0 0 3 1 7
Greece 2004 Round 1 10 3 1 1 1 3 3
China 2008 did not qualify
United Kingdom 2012 Round 1 11 3 0 2 1 2 3
Brazil 2016 did not qualify
Japan 2020
France 2024 Qualified
United States 2028 to be determined
Australia 2032
Total Round 1 5/9 12 1 3 8 8 21

U-23 Africa Cup of Nations[edit]

U-23 Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances: 2
Year Round GP W D L GS GA
Morocco 2011 Runners-up 5 3 0 2 6 5
Senegal 2015 did not qualify
Egypt 2019
Morocco 2023 Champions 5 4 1 0 12 5
Total 2/4 10 7 1 2 18 10

UNAF U-23 Tournament[edit]

UNAF U-23 Tournament
Appearances: 3 / 4
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
Libya 2006 - - - - - - - -
Tunisia 2007 3rd Place 3
Morocco 2010 Runners-up 2 3 2 0 1 6 3
Morocco 2011 3rd Place 3 2 0 1 1 1 2
Algeria 2015 Postponed

Islamic Solidarity Games[edit]

Football at the Islamic Solidarity Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Saudi Arabia 2005 Silver Medal 2nd 5 2 2 1 4 2
Iran 2010 Cancelled
Indonesia 2013 Gold Medal 1st 4 3 0 1 6 3
Azerbaijan 2017 Group stage 5th 3 1 2 0 2 1
Turkey 2021 Group stage 5th 3 1 1 1 5 4
Cameroon 2025 TBD
Total 1 title 4/4 15 7 5 3 17 10

Honours[edit]

Winners (1): 2023
Runners-up (1): 2011
Runners-up (1): 2010
Third Place (2): 2007, 2011
Runners-up (1): 2015
Third Place (1): 1991
Runners-up (1): 2005

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The club listed is the club for which the player last played a competitive match prior to the call-up.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kasraoui, Safaa. "Moroccan Football Returns to Olympic Games After 12 Years of Absence". Morocco World News. p. 1.
  2. ^ "Olympic Football Finals - Athens 2004". www.goalzz.com. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  3. ^ "Morocco to host Olympic tourney". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  4. ^ "Morocco, Egypt chase Olympic spot". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  5. ^ "Morocco through to Olympic Games". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  6. ^ "Gabon win first continental title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  7. ^ Latrech, Oumaima (7 July 2022). "Morocco to Host U23 AFCON Tournament in 2023". Morocco World News. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  8. ^ "CAF unveils the host country of the AFCON U-23 2023". AfrikPage. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Hosts Morocco get Ghana, Congo and Guinea at TotalEnergies U23 AFCON draw". CAF. 5 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Moroccan U-23 team beats Guinean counterpart 2-1". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-06-24. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  11. ^ Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "TotalEnergies U23 AFCON: Morocco secure semi-final berth with impressive win over Ghana | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  12. ^ "Morocco dominates Ghana with 5-1 victory, advances to U23 Africa Cup of Nations Semi-Finals". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-06-27. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  13. ^ "CAN U23: Morocco join Egypt in the final and qualify for the Olympic Games". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  14. ^ Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Morocco triumphs over Mali to reach final, seal Olympics berth | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  15. ^ "Morocco's U23 team crowned with African Cup of Nations". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-08. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  16. ^ Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Morocco win maiden TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations title with victory over Egypt | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  17. ^ "King Mohammed VI congratulates national U23 team for their victory, qualification to Paris '24 Olympics". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-09. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  18. ^ Kasraoui, Safaa. "U-23 AFCON: King Mohammed VI Congratulates Atlas Lions". moroccoworldnews. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  19. ^ "Tarik Sektioui appointed Morocco's new U23 manager". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  20. ^ "السيد طارق السكتيوي يستدعي 26 لاعبا للقاء بلجيكا" [Mr. Tariq Al-Saktiwi summons 26 players to meet Belgium] (in Arabic). Royal Moroccan Football Federation. 29 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Islamic Games". Rsssf. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
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