Casablanca – Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi has played down the significance of the Atlas Lions’ movement in the FIFA ranking, insisting that winning the Africa Cup of Nations matters far more than maintaining a particular position on the global stage.
Morocco briefly climbed to fifth in the world following victories over Gabon and Lesotho, with FIFA confirming on September 30 that the Atlas Lions had matched the highest ranking ever achieved by an African national team.
Their 1-1 friendly draw with Mali on Sunday later pushed Morocco down to seventh in the live standings, behind Portugal and Brazil. Those positions remain provisional ahead of FIFA’s next official update.
Ouahbi, however, made clear after the Mali game that the squad would not allow ranking movements to distract from its larger objective.
“We were happy to reach fifth place in the world, but our goal is to win AFCON. I don’t want us to become preoccupied with the ranking,” he said, according to the website El Botola.
The drop itself does not necessarily point to a sudden decline in Morocco’s performances.
FIFA uses an Elo-based system that adds or subtracts points after each match according to several factors, including the strength of the opposition, the importance of the fixture, the result and the expected outcome. Friendly matches also carry less weight than competitive qualifiers and major tournament games.
That means rankings can move quickly even when a team remains unbeaten. Morocco finished the international window with two 2-0 victories and one draw, yet their position changed because of the points lost against Mali and results involving nearby teams such as Portugal and Brazil.
The ranking therefore offers a useful snapshot of results over time rather than a definitive verdict on how well a team is playing at any given moment.
The benchmark appears simpler for Ouahbi: Morocco’s progress will ultimately be judged by what the team achieves when major titles are on the line.
