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Two of Morocco’s standout footballers were actually born outside the country – and, remarkably, so were the majority of players in their current World Cup squad.

Over the past few years, Morocco have evolved into one of Africa’s most dynamic and entertaining footballing sides.

Following their astonishing semi-final run at the 2022 World Cup, the Atlas Lions added the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy to their achievements earlier this year – though the manner of that triumph has sparked some debate.

Now, under the guidance of Mohamed Ouahbi, Morocco have kicked off their 2026 World Cup campaign in impressive fashion, delivering a strong performance against Brazil. Let’s take a closer look at the composition of this talented team.

Out of the 26 players called up for the World Cup this summer, only seven were born in Morocco itself.

Those homegrown players are: Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti, Marwane Saâdane, Youssef Belammari, Azzedine Ounahi, Soufiane Rahimi, Amine Sbaï, and Ayoub El Kaabi.

The team captain, Achraf Hakimi, is among six Moroccan internationals who were actually born in Spain.

Joining him on that list are Brahim Diaz of Real Madrid – who scored in the match against Brazil – Ismael Saibari, and defender Chadi Riad.

As one might expect, given the long-standing connections between France and North Africa, six players in the Moroccan squad were born in France.

That group includes Issa Diop, Ayyoub Bouaddi, and Gessime Yassine, among others.

The Netherlands has also produced three key members of the Moroccan side: Sofyan Amrabat, Anass Salah-Eddine, and Manchester United full-back Noussair Mazraoui, all of whom were born there.

Meanwhile, talented wingers Bilal El Khannouss and Chemsdine Talbi, along with Zakaria El Ouahdi, were born in Belgium.

Player – Place of birth

Yassine Bounou – Canada

Munir Mohamedi – Spain

Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti – Morocco

Achraf Hakimi – Spain

Noussair Mazraoui – Netherlands

Marwane Saâdane – Morocco

Zakaria El Ouahdi – Belgium

Issa Diop – France

Chadi Riad – Spain

Youssef Belammari – Morocco

Redouane Halhal – France

Anass Salah-Eddine – Netherlands

Sofyan Amrabat – Netherlands

Ayyoub Bouaddi – France

Chemsdine Talbi – Belgium

Azzedine Ounahi – Morocco

Ismael Saibari – Spain

Samir El Mourabet – France

Gessime Yassine – France

Bilal El Khannouss – Belgium

Neil El Aynaoui – France

Soufiane Rahimi – Morocco

Brahim Diaz – Spain

Amine Sbaï – Morocco

Ayoub El Kaabi – Morocco

Ayoube Amaimouni – Spain

Highly regarded goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was born in Montreal, Canada, before returning to Morocco with his family at the age of three.

Even the national team coach, Mohamed Ouahbi, was born in Brussels. Although his family has Moroccan heritage, they supported Belgium during his childhood, and his early coaching experience came with Belgian clubs Maccabi Brussels and Anderlecht.