If you are asked to name the best football players in Morocco in 2026, you will need far more than five names.
This is a squad packed with talent across every position, and the Atlas Lions are no longer just a promising African side.
Morocco reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, becoming the first African nation ever to do so.
They reched teh final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, confirming their status as the best national team on the continent right now.
Here are the 10 best soccer players in Morocco at the 2026 World Cup.
1. Achraf Hakimi — Defender (Captain)
Position: Right-back (Captain)
Age: 27 | Club: Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Africa’s reigning best player and one of the best right-backs in world football.
Hakimi arrives at this World Cup as the captain, finalised in the recent AFCON, and as the winner of the 2025 Champions League with PSG, who beat Arsenal in the final just days before Morocco’s squad announcement.
He has 96 caps and 11 international goals, which is a remarkable return for a right-back and a number that tells you everything about how far forward he gets.
His pace, his crossing, and his dead-ball delivery make him one of the most dangerous attacking full-backs in the history of the tournament.
He holds the record for the most World Cup appearances in Moroccan football history and will be desperate to go even further than the semi-final he reached in 2022.
2. Brahim Díaz — Forward/Midfielder
Position: Forward
Age: 26 | Club: Real Madrid (Spain)
The most important addition to this Morocco squad compared to Qatar 2022, and arguably the most exciting player in the entire group.
Brahim Díaz was top scorer at the 2025 AFCON with five goals in five games, and he brings that momentum to his first World Cup.
Born in Málaga, Spain to a Moroccan father, he initially represented Spain at junior level before choosing to switch allegiance to Morocco in 2024.
He has been one of the most inconsistent members of Real Madrid’s squad in terms of game time, but that has never translated to the international stage, where he is a genuine star who performs at a higher level when trusted with a key role.
With 14 goals in 26 caps, he is one of the most clinical forwards Morocco have had in a generation.
At 26 and heading to his first World Cup, this is Brahim Díaz’s moment to announce himself to the entire world.
3. Yassine Bounou — Goalkeeper
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 35 | Club: Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
One of the most accomplished goalkeepers of his generation and the hero of Morocco’s 2022 World Cup run.
Bounou saved two penalties in the shoot-out victory over Spain at the 2022 World Cup, a moment that encapsulated exactly what kind of goalkeeper he is.
He won the Zamora Trophy as the best goalkeeper in La Liga during his time at Sevilla and has been one of the best goalkeepers in La Liga history during his prime years.
Now at Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia at 35, he remains Morocco’s undisputed number one and the most experienced and decorated goalkeeper on the continent.
His command of his area, his reflexes, and his leadership of the back line are qualities that Morocco will absolutely need in what promises to be one of the most demanding groups at the tournament.
4. Sofyan Amrabat — Midfielder
Position: Midfielder
Age: 29 | Club: Real Betis (Spain)
The engine of Morocco’s midfield and the player who made the entire world take notice at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Amrabat was arguably the best defensive midfielder at the entire 2022 tournament, covering enormous ground, winning the ball back tenaciously, and protecting a back line that went on to eliminate Belgium, Spain, and Portugal.
He chose to represent Morocco over the Netherlands back in 2017 and has been repaying that faith ever since with 75 caps of combative, intelligent, high-quality defensive midfield play.
Now at Real Betis in La Liga, Amrabat arrives at this World Cup with more experience, more maturity, and a burning desire to go one step further than the semi-final that broke millions of Moroccan hearts in 2022.
5. Noussair Mazraoui — Defender
Position: Defender
Age: 28 | Club: Manchester United (England)
One of the most versatile and reliable defenders in the Morocco squad and a player who has established himself at the highest level of European football.
Mazraoui joined Manchester United from Bayern Munich and has been a consistent performer in the Premier League, capable of playing at right-back or left-back with equal composure.
He has 45 caps and brings the kind of top-level European experience that elevates Morocco’s defensive unit from very good to genuinely elite.
His ability to cover for Hakimi when the captain charges forward gives Morocco a defensive balance that is rare to find.
6. Ayoub El Kaabi — Forward
Position: Forward
Age: 32 | Club: Olympiacos (Greece)
Morocco’s most prolific international forward in history with 35 goals in 71 caps, making him the all-time top scorer for the Atlas Lions.
El Kaabi has been quietly putting together one of the most impressive records in African football at Olympiacos, where he has been consistently prolific.
At 32, he arrives at the World Cup in the prime years of his career and brings a lethal finishing instinct inside the box that gives Morocco a completely different goal threat from Brahim Díaz’s creativity.
He is clinical, intelligent, and ruthless in front of goal — exactly the type of striker a team with World Cup ambitions needs.
7. Azzedine Ounahi — Midfielder
Position: Midfielder
Age: 26 | Club: Girona (Spain)
One of the biggest breakthrough stars of the 2022 World Cup and a player whose stock has only risen since then.
Ounahi burst onto the global stage in Qatar with a series of dynamic, energetic, technically brilliant performances that immediately attracted attention from clubs across Europe.
He has 9 international goals in 49 caps, which is an impressive return for a midfielder, and brings creativity, directness, and box-to-box energy that gives Morocco a completely different dimension when he is in the team.
At 26 and now established in La Liga with Girona, Ounahi arrives at this World Cup as a seasoned international rather than an exciting prospect.
8. Bilal El Khannouss — Midfielder
Position: Midfielder
Age: 22 | Club: VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
One of the most technically gifted young midfielders in Moroccan football and a player who has been developing rapidly in the Bundesliga.
El Khannouss has 37 caps at just 22 years old, which tells you exactly how much confidence the coaching staff have placed in him.
He is composed on the ball, intelligent in his positioning, and capable of playing a range of passes that open up defences.
With the experience of Amrabat behind him and the creativity of Díaz in front of him, El Khannouss is the connecting piece in Morocco’s midfield that makes the whole system work.
9. Ismael Saibari — Midfielder
Position: Midfielder
Age: 25 | Club: PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
One of the most exciting all-action midfielders in Moroccan football and a key figure in PSV’s recent run of success.
Saibari has 9 international goals from 31 caps, which makes him one of the most prolific box-to-box midfielders at this tournament relative to his number of appearances.
He is relentless in his pressing, excellent at arriving in goalscoring positions, and capable of winning the ball and driving forward with real purpose.
At 25 and at one of Europe’s most competitive clubs in PSV, Saibari arrives at his first World Cup ready to prove he belongs at the very top level.
10. Ayyoub Bouaddi — Midfielder
Position: Midfielder
Age: 18 | Club: Lille (France)
The youngest player in the Morocco squad and one of the most genuinely fascinating stories at the entire tournament.
Bouaddi was born on October 2, 2007, and has already earned 3 senior caps for one of the best national teams in Africa.
He is one of the youngest players at the 2026 World Cup.
He plays for Lille in Ligue 1, where his technical quality, composure in midfield, and ability to press and win the ball have made him one of the most highly rated teenagers in French football.
Choosing a player this young for a World Cup when you have genuine ambitions of going deep into the tournament is a statement of real belief from coach Mohamed Ouahbi.
At 18, this could be the tournament that puts Bouaddi on the global map — and for Morocco, he is the face of what comes next after this golden generation.
Conclusion
Morocco are not a dark horse at this 2026 World Cup. They are a genuine contender.
They have one of the best players on the planet in Hakimi, the most exciting breakthrough star in Brahim Díaz, and a goalkeeper in Bounou who has saved penalty shoot-outs at the highest level.
They are one of Africa’s most powerful football nations, and in 2026 they want to go all the way.
Check out our guide to the best kits at the 2022 World Cup, the best Muslim footballers of all time, and the greatest soccer players of all time.
Who do you think will be Morocco’s best player at the 2026 World Cup? Let us know in the comments!
