Rabat- Morocco’s men’s national football team has been shortlisted for the 2026 CAF Men’s National Team of the Year award, with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announcing ten nominees on Wednesday.
The Atlas Lions are competing against Algeria, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia for the continental distinction.
Morocco’s nomination comes during a year in which the national team reached the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Under coach Mohamed Ouahbi, the Atlas Lions finished second in Group C after drawing 1-1 with Brazil and recording victories over Scotland and Haiti.
They then overcame the Netherlands in a penalty shootout before defeating co-hosts Canada 3-0 in the round of 16, with Azzedine Ounahi scoring twice and Soufiane Rahimi adding the third.
That victory made Morocco the first African country to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on two separate occasions, having previously advanced to the semi-finals in Qatar in 2022.
Their campaign ended on July 9 with a 2-0 defeat to France in Boston, where second-half goals from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé secured the European side’s passage to the semi-finals.
The Atlas Lions also made history in September when they climbed to fifth place in the FIFA Men’s World Ranking, equaling the highest position ever achieved by an African national team. They subsequently dropped to seventh in the October ranking but remained Africa’s highest-ranked side.
The latest nomination also gives Morocco an opportunity to secure the award for a second consecutive year, although it was the country’s Under-20 team that claimed the 2025 distinction.
The young Atlas Lions received the honor after winning the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, where they defeated Argentina 2-0 in the final.
Morocco’s senior national team previously won the CAF National Team of the Year award in 2023, in recognition of its historic World Cup campaign in Qatar.
The 2026 shortlist includes several other teams that competed at this summer’s World Cup, including Cabo Verde, which made its tournament debut, and Egypt, which reached the round of 16 for the first time in their history.
The winners will be revealed at the CAF Awards ceremony, scheduled for December 7 in Lagos, Nigeria.
