Morocco national under-23 football team

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Morocco Olympic football team (U-23)
UNAF (North Africa)
Head coachTarik Sektioui
CaptainAbde Ezzalzouli
Home stadiumVarious
FIFA codeMAR
First colours
Second colours
First international
 
2011)
Best resultChampions (2023)

The Morocco Olympic football team represents

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

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

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

Marrakech Stadium.[6]

First continental title

On 7 July 2022, Morocco were awarded the hosting rights of 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

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Voided or Postponed   Fixture

2023

22 March 2023 Friendly Morocco  2–3  Ivory Coast Rabat, Morocco
 [1] Stadium:
Stade Moulay Abdellah

Attendance: 0
24 March 2023 Friendly Morocco  2–0  Togo Rabat, Morocco
 Report Stadium:
Stade Moulay Abdellah

Attendance: 0
27 March 2023 Friendly Morocco  3–0  Uzbekistan Rabat, Morocco
 [2] Stadium:
Stade Moulay Hassan

Attendance: 0
16 June 2023 Friendly Morocco  4–1  Mauritania Rabat, Morocco
 [3] Stadium:
Stade Moulay Abdellah

Attendance: 0
20 June 2023 Friendly Morocco  3–1  Zambia Rabat, Morocco
 [4]
Stadium:
Stade Moulay Abdellah

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

Competitive record

Olympic Games record

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

U-23 Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances: 2
Year Round GP W D L GS GA
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

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

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

Coaching staff

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

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations from 24 June to 8 July 2023 in  Morocco.

Coach: Issame Charaï

The final squad was announced on 9 June 2023.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
1 1GK Alaa Bellaarouch (2002-02-01)1 February 2002 (aged 21)
Racing Strasbourg B
2 2DF Omar El Hilali (2003-09-12)12 September 2003 (aged 19)
Espanyol Barcelona
3 2DF Chadi Riad (2003-06-17)17 June 2003 (aged 19) Spain FC Barcelona
4 2DF Redouane Halhal (2003-03-05)5 March 2003 (aged 20)
HSC Montpellier B
5 2DF Ayman El Wafi (2004-05-11)11 May 2004 (aged 19) Switzerland FC Lugano
6 3MF Benjamin Bouchouari (2001-11-13)13 November 2001 (aged 21) France AS Saint-Étienne
7 4FW Couhaib Driouech (2002-04-17)17 April 2002 (aged 21) Netherlands Excelsior Rotterdam
8 3MF Ismael Saibari (2001-01-28)28 January 2001 (aged 22) Netherlands PSV Eindhoven
9 4FW Amine El Ouazzani (2001-07-15)15 July 2001 (aged 21)
EA Guingamp
10 4FW Ibrahim Salah (2001-08-30)30 August 2001 (aged 21)
Stade Rennais FC
11 4FW Zakaria El Ouahdi (2001-12-31)31 December 2001 (aged 21) Belgium RWD Molenbeek
12 1GK Elias Mago (2004-03-23)23 March 2004 (aged 19)
Standard Liège
13 4FW Yanis Begraoui (2001-07-04)4 July 2001 (aged 21)
FC Toulouse
14 3MF Oussama Targhalline (2002-05-20)20 May 2002 (aged 21)
AC Le Havre
15 2DF Mehdi Boukamir (2004-01-26)26 January 2004 (aged 19)
RSC Charleroi
16 4FW Abde Ezzalzouli (captain) (2001-12-25)25 December 2001 (aged 21) Spain FC Barcelona
17 3MF Oussama El Azzouzi (2001-05-29)29 May 2001 (aged 22)
Union SG
18 2DF Ayoub Amraoui (2004-05-14)14 May 2004 (aged 19) France OGC Nice
19 2DF Zakaria Labib (2003-02-28)28 February 2003 (aged 20)
Raja Club Athletic
20 4FW Hamza Igamane (2002-11-02)2 November 2002 (aged 20) Morocco AS FAR
21 4FW Abde Raihani (2004-02-03)3 February 2004 (aged 19)
Atlético de Madrid
22 1GK Rachid Ghanimi (2001-04-25)25 April 2001 (aged 22)
Rapide Oued Zem
23 3MF
Bilal El Khannouss
 (2004-05-10)10 May 2004 (aged 19)
KRC Genk
24 3MF Amir Richardson (2002-01-24)24 January 2002 (aged 21)
Stade Reims
25 4FW Younes Taha (2002-11-27)27 November 2002 (aged 20) Netherlands FC Twente
26 2DF Akram Nakach (2002-04-07)7 April 2002 (aged 21) Morocco Union Touarga
27 1GK Hakim Mesbahi (2003-12-19)19 December 2003 (aged 19) Morocco AS FAR

Previous squads

Overage players in Olympic Games

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

Honours

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

See also

References

  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. ^ "Islamic Games". Rsssf. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
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