Opinions, analysis and commentary
Morocco arrives at the 2026 World Cup having dropped the two players who defined their 2022 semi-final run. Youssef En-Nesyri and Hakim Ziyech are out. The combined exit accounts for 50 international goals and 156 caps, and coach Mohamed Ouahbi has chosen not to replace their profiles but to build around something different. Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Diaz now carry Morocco’s attacking ambitions against Brazil, Scotland, and Haiti. The question is whether two players can fill the space that two others left.
En-Nesyri’s omission removes Morocco’s aerial focal point and its most experienced striker. Across 92 caps and 25 goals, he delivered Morocco’s defining World Cup moment, the towering 2022 quarter-final header against Portugal that sent the Atlas Lions into the first African semi-final in World Cup history. At 28 and still active through all seven of Morocco’s AFCON 2025 matches, his absence reflects Ouahbi’s deliberate generational reset rather than a decline in output.
Ziyech’s exit is just as significant. His 64 caps and 25 goals place him joint third on Morocco’s all-time scoring list, but the numbers understate his value. He was the creative spine of the 2022 run, capable of unlocking deep defences with a single precision pass and shifting the tempo of attacks in Morocco’s favour.
| Player | Caps | Goals | Role | 2026 WC Status |
| Youssef En-Nesyri | 92 | 25 | Striker | OMITTED |
| Hakim Ziyech | 64 | 25 | Playmaker / Winger | OMITTED |
| Achraf Hakimi | 95 | 14 | Right-back / Captain | SELECTED |
| Brahim Diaz | 25 | 14 | Attacking Midfielder / Winger | SELECTED |
Hakimi is the most important player in this squad, and he doesn’t play in attack. The PSG captain produced 5 goals and 10 assists across all club competitions in 2025/26, numbers that rival attacking midfielders across Europe. His overlapping runs down Morocco’s right flank create the width their central players need, and his ability to beat defenders one-on-one in the final third gives Ouahbi a second creative axis when Diaz is marked tightly.
The blueprint Ouahbi has settled on: Hakimi drives the right channel with freedom, Diaz operates as the central link between midfield and attack, and Abde Ezzalzouli provides pace and directness from the left. Three different threats, none of them En-Nesyri. None of them is Ziyech.
At AFCON 2025, Diaz produced one of the competition’s great individual tournament performances. Five goals in seven games earned him the Golden Boot and made him the first player in AFCON history to score in five consecutive matches. At 25 caps and 14 goals, his international record already matches Hakimi’s.
The complication is the AFCON 2025 final. With Morocco level against Senegal in extra time at the 114th minute, Diaz attempted a Panenka against Edouard Mendy. Mendy collected it calmly. Pape Gueye scored the winner. Diaz apologised publicly, calling it a personal failure. At a World Cup, with no margin for individual error, that moment is the only question mark over him.
Morocco opens Group C against Brazil on June 13 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Five-time world champions, ranked fifth globally. Without En-Nesyri’s aerial presence to threaten Brazil’s central defenders at set-pieces, and without Ziyech’s capacity to unlock a deep defensive line with one precision pass, Morocco cannot construct attacks the way they did in 2022. Hakimi’s overlapping runs against Brazil’s left side are the most reliable offensive mechanism; Diaz’s movement between the lines can manufacture half-chances in transition. Scotland follows on June 19 in Boston, Haiti on June 24 in Atlanta. Morocco’s group position will be shaped by MetLife.
Ayoub El Kaabi is the primary forward cover, having finished as Morocco’s second-highest scorer at AFCON 2025 with 3 goals. Abde Ezzalzouli offers direct, pacy alternatives from the left flank. Ayyoub Bouaddi, an uncapped 18-year-old from Lille who was outstanding in Ligue 1, brings creative midfield depth as cover for both the Ziyech and Diaz roles. The next generation is present in this squad.
The player who cannot be replaced is Hakimi. No one in Morocco’s squad can replicate the combination of defensive solidity and attacking output he provides from right-back. If the PSG captain is suspended or unavailable for any group game, Morocco’s entire shape changes. One player carrying both defensive and attacking responsibility on an entire flank is the real structural vulnerability that Ouahbi’s squad carries into North America. The Morocco FIFA World Cup 2026 squad, Hakimi & Diaz question isn’t whether they’re good enough. It’s whether the squad can function at full capacity if either of them misses a game they cannot afford to lose.
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Why was En-Nesyri dropped from Morocco’s 2026 World Cup squad?
Coach Mohamed Ouahbi omitted En-Nesyri as part of a deliberate generational reset despite his 25 goals in 92 caps. He played all seven AFCON 2025 matches before losing his place.
How many goals has Brahim Diaz scored for Morocco?
Brahim Diaz has scored 14 goals in 25 caps for Morocco. He won the AFCON 2025 Golden Boot with 5 goals in 7 matches.
Who is in Morocco’s Group C at the FIFA World Cup 2026?
Morocco’s Group C opponents are Brazil, Scotland, and Haiti. They open against Brazil on June 13 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
What happened to Hakim Ziyech’s Morocco career?
Ziyech was omitted by coach Ouahbi, ending his international career at 64 caps and 25 goals. His tally places him joint third on Morocco’s all-time scoring list.
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