Fifa World Cup: Morocco make history with remarkable starting XI vs Brazil
Atlas Lions display global spread of talent with 10 of 11 players born outside Morocco
Those who stayed up late to watch the mouth-watering Morocco vs Brazil clash early on Sunday would probably not have been too surprised by the 1-1 draw, given the Atlas Lions are ranked 7th, just behind the Selecao at 6th.
Having made the semi-final in their record-breaking run at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Mohamed Ouahbi’s men again created history when they lined up against Carlo Ancelotti’s men by fielding a starting XI made up almost entirely of players born outside the country.
The line-up showcased the global spread of Moroccan football talent. Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was born in Montreal, Canada, while defenders Achraf Hakimi and Chadi Riad were born in Madrid and Palma in Spain, respectively.
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Centre-back Issa Diop was born in Toulouse, France, and full-back Noussair Mazraoui in Leiderdorp, Netherlands.
Morocco's midfield also reflected the depth of its diaspora. Ayyoub Bouaddi, born in Senlis, France, partnered with Nancy-born Neil El Aynaoui, while Bilal El Khannouss was born in Molenbeek in Belgium.
Striker Ismael Saibari, who scored Morocco's goal, and right-winger Brahim Diaz were born in Terrassa and Malaga in Spain, respectively.
Only left-winger Azzedine Ounahi was born in his home country, in Casablanca.
Across Morocco’s 26-man squad selected for the World Cup this summer, there are actually just seven players who were born in their home country.
Many members of the squad came through academy systems in France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands before opting to represent the country of their parents and grandparents.
Following the match, Ouahbi expressed confidence in the future of Moroccan football, but declared his team was capable of more. "We won't settle for this. I can promise you this is not the end," The Belgian-Moroccan coach told a post-match news conference in New Jersey, as quoted by Xinhua. "The competition is long and you'll have a lot of fun watching us."
Ouahbi said his team were determined to improve on their showing in Qatar four years ago. "I want to go beyond the semi-finals, but it was a good match,” he said.
“We got a point. We hoped to have more, but one isn't a bad result and we hope to improve.
"The message to our fans is that I know they are very proud of us. Today we showed we're ambitious. We drew, but we showed we wanted to win. We showed that we have a strong personality and we'll continue to do this."
