Rabat – Former France defender Adil Rami has said Morocco fully deserved their place in the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals, insisting that the Atlas Lions’ latest run was not the result of chance.
“Morocco did not reach the quarterfinals by chance or without deserving it,” Rami said in a video shared online.
The 2018 World Cup winner explained that Morocco’s main difficulty was facing France, one of the leading contenders for the title, at a time when Mohamed Ouahbi’s team were missing important players.
“The problem is that when you reach the quarterfinals, you come up against one of the main favorites to win the tournament, which was France,” he said.
Rami said the difference between the two teams became clearer because Morocco needed their senior figures and regular starters for such a difficult match.
“In that game, we felt that Morocco badly needed its key players and leaders,” he said. “When I speak about key players, I mean all those who were injured just before the World Cup.”
Morocco entered the tournament without defender Nayef Aguerd and winger Abde Ezzalzouli, who were removed from the squad because of injuries shortly before the opening match.
The Atlas Lions then lost Ismael Saibari for the quarterfinal after he suffered a hamstring injury during the 3-0 victory over Canada. The forward had scored in all three group matches and converted the decisive penalty against the Netherlands.
“I think the difference was clearly visible in that match,” Rami added.
France end Morocco’s run
France defeated Morocco 2-0 in Boston to reach the World Cup semifinals.
Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring after missing an earlier penalty, before Ousmane Dembele added France’s second goal six minutes later. Morocco struggled to create clear attacking opportunities without Saibari and several other important options.
Ouahbi admitted after the match that France had been the better team, but said Morocco must learn from the defeat and continue developing ahead of future competitions.
Despite the elimination, Morocco became the first African country to reach the World Cup quarterfinals in consecutive editions.
Their campaign included a penalty-shootout victory over the Netherlands and a convincing win over co-hosts Canada in the round of 16.
Rami ended his assessment with a warning for Morocco’s future opponents.
“Watch out for this Moroccan team at the next World Cup,” he said.
Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal and are already guaranteed a place in the tournament.
The competition will give the Atlas Lions another opportunity to build on their historic semifinal appearance in 2022 and their quarterfinal finish in 2026.
