HAKIMI LEADS NINE MOROCCO STARS TO 2026
Nine players from Morocco's historic 2022 World Cup semi-final run are set to return for the 2026 tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, with Achraf Hakimi leading the contingent. According to Al Jazeera, this rare continuity gives Morocco a significant advantage as squad announcements intensify ahead of the June 11 kickoff.
Hakimi, Real Madrid's star right-back and one of Africa's most consistently elite performers, anchors a group that understands the pressure and demands of knockout football at the world's biggest stage. The 2022 campaign transformed Morocco's football profile globally—they weren't supposed to reach the semi-finals, yet they did. That experience, that belief, cannot be replicated through tactical sessions alone.
Morocco's 2022 squad defied expectations by eliminating Spain and Portugal before losing to France in the semi-final. The core players who delivered those victories—Hakimi prominent among them—now return with a blueprint. They've already proven they can compete with and beat elite European nations. They've already shown the tactical discipline and collective resilience required to progress deep into a World Cup. For a North African nation, this is unprecedented territory. Most countries either rebuild or collapse after such campaigns. Morocco is choosing continuity.
The nine returning players provide tactical familiarity under coach Walid Regragui, who has had four years to refine systems around this experienced spine. Younger talents can be integrated around proven performers rather than forcing a rebuild. This is the opposite of the conventional wisdom that World Cup success leads to player departures and squad turnover. Morocco's front office has kept the band together.
For 2026, Morocco enters as a known quantity rather than a surprise package. European scouts and opposition coaches have four additional years of footage. The element of surprise—which benefited Morocco in 2022—evaporates. Yet experience and proven resilience under pressure might matter more than novelty. Hakimi and his nine teammates will face heightened scrutiny, greater defensive focus, and opponents specifically prepared for their style.
The question becomes whether Morocco can elevate beyond semi-final football or whether the 2022 run was their peak under this generation. Tournament football often allows one miraculous run per cycle. Can they sustain it?