Morocco — WC 2026 Group C

Morocco arrive at the 2026 World Cup as the most consequential African football programme of the modern era — fourth at Qatar 2022, the first African and first Arab nation to reach a World Cup semi-final, holders of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, and confirmed co-hosts of the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal. The Atlas Lions are also the team that built and broke a 2025 CAF record of 19 consecutive victories across all competitions. Group C — Brazil, Scotland, Haiti — gives them a marquee opening fixture, a European mid-table opponent and the lowest-ranked side in the group. The path to the knockouts is there. So is the expectation.

Qualifying Path and 2025 AFCON Backdrop

Morocco confirmed qualification for the 2026 finals via the CAF qualifying cycle in mid-2025 without dropping a competitive match — part of the streak that ran to 19 matches across all competitions. The bigger story of the cycle was the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, held in Morocco from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026, the country’s first AFCON hosting in 47 years. Morocco progressed to the final, where the 18 January meeting with Senegal at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat ended unusually: Senegal walked off the pitch in protest at a disputed refereeing decision and refused to return. CAF subsequently ruled the on-pitch result overturned and declared Morocco champions, a procedurally unique outcome that ESPN documented in late January 2026.

Walid Regragui — the architect of the 2022 Qatar run — departed following the AFCON cycle. The Federation Royale Marocaine de Football appointed Mohamed Ouahbi as head coach for the 2026 World Cup, with the federation framing the change as a planned post-AFCON cycle transition.

The 2026 Squad — Hakimi at the Heart

Captain Achraf Hakimi is the most influential Moroccan footballer of the 2025-26 season and the 2025 CAF African Player of the Year, recognised after a Champions League-winning campaign at Paris Saint-Germain that included 11 goals and 14 assists across 55 matches in PSG’s treble-winning season. He is the most dynamic right-back in world football, the captain, and the player every Group C opponent will plan to neutralise.

The spine around him is veteran European-experienced. Yassine Bounou — the 2022 Qatar penalty-shootout hero against Spain — anchors the goal at Al-Hilal. Nayef Aguerd at West Ham and the wider centre-back rotation provide the defensive base. Sofyan Amrabat at Fenerbahçe is the holding midfielder, with Azzedine Ounahi providing the creative midfield element and 21-year-old Leicester midfielder Bilal El Khannouss the rising star. Up front, Youssef En-Nesyri at Fenerbahçe is the aerial-threat striker who headed Morocco past Portugal in the 2022 quarter-final.

The squad is overwhelmingly drawn from European leagues — Ligue 1, the Premier League, La Liga, the Saudi Pro League and Süper Lig — supplemented by Botola Pro pathway products from Wydad AC and Raja Casablanca and graduates of the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé.

How Group C Plays Out

The Atlas Lions open against Brazil at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey — the marquee fixture of Group C and a first competitive meeting between the two sides for over a decade. Brazil have never lost competitively to Morocco, but Morocco arrive on the back of an 19-match winning streak and with proven ability to beat traditional powerhouses on the biggest stage. The Hakimi versus Vinícius Júnior right-flank duel is one of the standout individual matchups of the entire group stage.

Scotland follow on 19 June. Morocco’s last competitive meeting with Scotland was the 1998 World Cup group stage in Saint-Étienne, when a Mustapha Hadji-led Morocco won 3-0 to send Scotland out. The 2026 fixture is the closest Group C will come to a knockout-round preview for second place — Morocco are likely group runners-up if Brazil top the standings, and Scotland are the side most directly competing for that finish.

Haiti are the third opponent in a first-ever competitive meeting between the two federations. Morocco are heavily favoured given the squad gap, but Haiti’s defensive resilience and 52-year World Cup return mean this is exactly the kind of fixture where second-half rotation against organised low blocks can produce a frustrating draw.

Aussie Viewing Notes

Eastern-time U.S. venues create early-morning AEST kickoffs for Australian viewers; exact times depend on FIFA’s final scheduling, which had not been confirmed in this form at the time of writing. Group C’s opening Brazil v Morocco fixture at MetLife is a fixture worth setting an alarm for. Check the full WC 2026 schedule in AEST closer to the tournament.

Key Players to Watch

Watch Hakimi. The 2025 CAF African Player of the Year is the player around whom Mohamed Ouahbi has built the modern Morocco shape — overlapping runs from right-back create numerical superiority in attack, and his defensive recovery speed handles the elite wingers in the group. Watch Amrabat against Brazil’s Bruno Guimarães-Casemiro axis. Watch Bounou — his penalty-shootout record against Spain in 2022 means he is the most psychologically prepared goalkeeper in the group for a deep tournament run. Watch El Khannouss for the next-generation creative spark.

The bigger picture: this is the most experienced Morocco squad to arrive at a World Cup in the country’s history. The 2022 Qatar fourth-place finish is no longer the ceiling — it is the floor.

What Morocco Need to Advance

Realistically: 4 points. A point or better from Brazil, a win over Haiti, and a competitive Scotland fixture should be enough to advance — likely as runners-up to Brazil, but with a credible path to topping the group if the Atlas Lions extend their winning streak into MetLife. Under the 48-team format, even third place in Group C remains an advancement possibility through the best-third pathway.

More Morocco + WC 2026 Reading

• Group C full preview
• Morocco all-time World Cup history
• Full WC 2026 schedule in AEST
• Latest WC 2026 outright odds
• Best Aussie betting sites for the World Cup