Morocco 2022 Redux? The Atlas Lions Are Doing It Again

WorldCup.NYC Editorial — June 29, 2026

The 2022 Blueprint

At Qatar 2022, Morocco became the first African or Arab nation in history to reach a World Cup semifinal — a run built on suffocating defense (they conceded just one goal, an own goal, across the entire knockout stage), elite goalkeeping from Yassine Bounou, and the pace and creativity of Achraf Hakimi and Hakim Ziyech. They beat Spain and Portugal — both ranked far above them — before falling to France in the semifinal.

The 2026 Echo

The penalty shootout win over the Netherlands on June 29 has the unmistakable fingerprints of that 2022 run. Bounou — now four years older and even more experienced — produced the crucial save in the shootout that turned the tie. Hakimi, now Morocco's captain, anchors a defense built on the same principle: concede almost nothing, make the opponent earn every chance, win the moments that matter.

Issa Diop's stoppage-time header to force extra time after Cody Gakpo had given the Dutch the lead is precisely the kind of refuse-to-die moment that defined 2022 — Morocco have shown, twice now in two different tournaments, that they do not consider a match over until the final whistle, even when behind late.

What's Different This Time

This Morocco squad has more attacking talent in 2026 than in 2022. Brahim Díaz, who switched allegiance from Spain, gives them a different kind of creative threat than Ziyech did. Ismael Saibari — who endured a difficult night in open play against the Netherlands but had the composure to convert the winning penalty — represents a new generation stepping into big moments alongside the 2022 veterans.

The squad also carries something 2022 didn't: the experience of having already done this. Players who know what a deep World Cup run feels like, who have already beaten Spain and Portugal on the biggest stage, are harder to rattle than first-timers. That experience showed in the composure of the shootout.

What's Next

Morocco face Canada in the Round of 16 in Houston on July 4 — a genuinely winnable tie against a co-host team that, while spirited, lacks Morocco's knockout-stage pedigree. If Morocco navigate that test, the draw opens up into territory where their defensive discipline could trouble almost anyone left in the competition.

Nobody is calling this team a tournament favorite. But nobody called them that in 2022 either, right up until they were one win away from a World Cup final.