RABAT: Morocco head into Friday’s FIFA World Cup draw in Washington brimming with confidence, determined to build on their trailblazing run to the semifinals in Qatar 2022 and prove their rise is no accident.
The Atlas Lions stunned the world three years ago, becoming the first African and Arab nation to reach the last four of a World Cup after eliminating Spain and Portugal before falling to France.
Coach Walid Regragui, who masterminded that historic feat, said the challenge now was to sustain success. “Qatar was not a miracle,” Regragui told Moroccan state television. “It was the fruit of a long-term plan. At 2026, we want to go further. We have the talent, the mentality and the experience.”
Morocco’s ambitions rest on two pillars: a thriving youth system and a squad stacked with international stars. Achraf Hakimi, a Champions League regular with Paris Saint-Germain, headlines a group that includes Hakim Ziyech, Sofyan Amrabat and Youssef En-Nesyri — all playing at the highest level in Europe.
Rising talents such as Abde Ezzalzouli and Bilal El Khannouss add depth and dynamism.
Morocco’s youth program has delivered unprecedented success. Coach Mohamed Wahbi guided his team to a historic FIFA Under-20 World Cup triumph in October, when they beat Argentina 2-0 in the final to become the first Arab nation to lift the trophy.
The under-17 side reached the quarter-finals of their World Cup, while the under-23 team claimed the Africa Cup of Nations and secured a place at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where they went on to win bronze.
“The pressure is already there – all of Morocco wants the Africa Cup,” Wahbi told Al Arabiya TV, referring to this month’s continental tournament on home soil. “Winning the youth World Cup won’t add pressure on Regragui, it will motivate him. Everyone sees Morocco today as a leader in African football, and that’s the result of a clear project.”
Morocco’s football vision aligns with its global ambitions. The kingdom will co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.
“Hosting 2030 is a responsibility and an opportunity,” said Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. “But first, 2026 is about proving that Morocco belongs among the elite.”
Morocco look to youth and experience to prove Qatar World Cup success was no fluke
https://arab.news/mzpu5
Morocco look to youth and experience to prove Qatar World Cup success was no fluke
- “Qatar was not a miracle,” Regragui told Moroccan state television
- “It was the fruit of a long-term plan. At 2026, we want to go further. We have the talent, the mentality and the experience“
Like Leicester and Bodø/Glimt, Swiss soccer club Thun set to be historic league champion
- Thun have never won the top-tier league in the club’s 128-year history yet this season has turned the standings into a procession
- Thun are the latest unheralded European club taking inspiration from Leicester
GENEVA: Like Leicester’s Premier League title in 2016 and Bodø/Glimt’s stunning rise in Norway since 2020, Swiss soccer looks set to get its own surprise champion.
Thun have never won the top-tier league in the club’s 128-year history yet this season has turned the standings into a procession — even as a newly promoted club.
A 2-2 draw with second-place St. Gallen late Thursday stopped Thun’s run of 10 straight wins yet coach Mauro Lustrinelli’s team are 14 points clear with 10 rounds left.
“We are also a young team in the sense that the team are experiencing their first Super League,” Lustrinelli told Swiss public broadcaster SRF after his players conceded a stoppage-time goal to drop points for the first time since December.
Thun head Sunday to local rival Young Boys, a 17-time title winner and Champions League regular in recent years, as the current best team in Switzerland.
Following Leicester’s lead
Thun are the latest unheralded European club taking inspiration from Leicester.
Last year, Union Saint-Gilloise won their first Belgian title for 90 years and tiny Mjällby were champion of Sweden for the first time in their 86-year history.
Title races across Europe see Hearts on course for a first Scottish title in 66 years and Paris Saint-Germain being chased by Lens which won their only French title 28 years ago.
The most common link is clubs in provincial towns and cities run on low budgets with a collective team-first ethic.
“You really feel that it’s like a family,” Lustrinelli said last year when extending his contract at the club where he was once a star striker and has coached for four seasons.
Thun’s key players
It took Thun five years to get out of the second division after being relegated in 2020. That period included severe financial issues and being part of a multi-club ownership group backed by American and Chinese investors.
Thun are independent and locally owned again, and built a plan with Lustrinelli for a team playing the direct, pressing style he wants with two central strikers.
Top scorer this season is 12-goal Elmin Rastoder, a Swiss-born North Macedonia international who could feature in the World Cup playoffs against Denmark later this month.
Rastoder’s strike partner Thursday was Brighton Labeau, once a teammate of Kylian Mbappé, who is three years younger, when they were both in the Monaco academy.
Thun’s star prospect is Ethan Meichtry, a Switzerland under-21 midfielder who could yet make the World Cup squad.
Champions League debut
Thun were one of the smallest clubs to play in the Champions League after Lustrinelli’s 20-goal season lifted the team to Swiss league runner-up in 2005.
Thun advanced through two qualifying rounds to reach the elite stage, finishing third in a group behind Arsenal and Ajax.
Back then, Thun played European games at Young Boys’ stadium in Bern because their old home was below UEFA standard.
If Thun enter the Champions League in the second qualifying round in July, home games should be at their 10,000-seat Stockhorn Arena — with artificial turf, just like at Bodø/Glimt inside the Arctic Circle in Norway.
The Swiss champion must win through three qualifying rounds to reach the 36-team league phase.
Home of Swiss soccer
Thun will soon be the home of Switzerland’s soccer federation.
The Swiss Football Home project was approved last August and will include a new headquarters for the federation plus training fields for national teams. Next door will likely be the next Swiss champion.
“The road is still long,” Lustrinelli said of the 10-game run-in, “and we want everyone who will help us get those 30 points.”
