Rabat – Morocco’s national football team was recently added to the upcoming FIFA 23 game alongside other teams that have qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
EA Sports developed the game in partnership with the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). FIFA 23 Standard Edition will be released on September 30 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia.
According to EA Sports, the game will use HyperMotion2 technology and feature men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup tournaments, women’s club football, and cross-play.
FIFA-focused news outlet Refifa reported on June 23 that fourteen national teams “are already available in the game” including Belgium, France, England, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and Poland. Besides European teams, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, the US, and Canada teams are also in FIFA 23.
The Moroccan team was only recently added to the game as part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Downloadable Content (DLC).
This makes Morocco the second African national team to join FIFA 23. The Atlas Lions, as the Moroccan team is nicknamed, will play in Group F in the 2022 FIFA World Cup alongside Belgium, Canada, and Croatia.
Morocco’s latest appearance in the FIFA video games was in FIFA 18 as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup update. This year’s game is expected to feature Achraf Hakimi and Yassine Bounou, among other highly rated, world-class Moroccan footballers.
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Tunisia, Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Iran were also recently added to the game alongside Croatia, Switzerland, Serbia, Uruguay, and Ecuador. Japan and South Korea are the only Asian teams to be available in FIFA 2023.
In June, Morocco’s national football team gained three places in the global FIFA ranking to occupy the second position in Africa and 21st place in the world. Senegal was the only African country to outperform the Atlas Lions, with the West African country maintaining its leading position in the African football scene.
While Morocco’s global ranking has noticeably improved this year, the Atlas Lions fans are largely unsatisfied with the team’s performance in recent games. Over the past months, some fans have insistently called for the immediate dismissal of Vahid Halilhodzic, the Moroccan team’s current head coach.
However, the team appears to be motivated for the upcoming World Cup games in Qatar. “We have enough time to do it [make progress before the World Cup]… We have to stay positive,” midfielder Faycal Fajr said in June.
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