Morocco’s thrilling run at the FIFA U17 World Cup concluded today, as the Atlas Lions faced a 1-0 defeat against Mali in the quarter-final showdown at Manahan Stadium in Indonesia.

Despite a valiant effort from the Atlas Lions, Mali’s U17 team set the tone early in the game. Despite fierce resistance, the Eagles managed to breach Morocco’s defenses, with Ibrahim Diarra securing the decisive goal in the 81st minute.

The journey for Morocco’s U17 team began with remarkable momentum this year. Just days ago, they clinched a nail-biting victory over Iran in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in full-time.

This marks Morocco’s highest finish in the history of the tournament, surpassing their previous round of 16 exit in the 2013 edition, where they were defeated by Cote d’Ivoire 1-2.

The Atlas Lions navigated the group stage with two victories and one loss. They kicked off with a convincing 2-0 win over Panama in the opening match, suffered a setback with a 0-2 loss to Ecuador, and roared back to secure a 3-1 triumph against the host country, Indonesia.

Finishing first in Group A with six points, Morocco’s U17 team secured their spot in the knockout stage, marking a commendable achievement in their FIFA U17 World Cup journey.

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Today, it was verified by reports from beIN Sports that Adli has chosen to represent Morocco’s national squad rather than France’s.

Adli’s road to represent Morocco has been nothing short of extraordinary, as seen by his prior U18 and U21 national team appearances for France.

Adli played in 18 games while a member of these teams throughout that time, scoring three important goals.

Football fans and experts alike have taken notice of his remarkable on-field achievements, making him a promising future player in Europe.

Adli, who was born on May 29th, 2000 in Vitry-sur-Seine, France, started playing football in the youth divisions of nearby clubs.

His extraordinary on-field abilities gained attention right on, and he developed them under the watchful guidance of famous coaches and trainers, paving the way for his future professional career.

The Moroccan player’s breakthrough came in January 2018 when he made his senior debut for Toulouse FC in a Coupe de la Ligue game.

His spell at Toulouse showcased his ability to adapt to different playing styles and proved instrumental in his development as a player.

The youthful winger joined Bayer Leverkusen in 2021, where he rapidly made a name for himself as a valuable member of the German team, making both offensive and playmaking contributions.

He is a strong force in the offensive third thanks to his speed, dribbling skills, and field vision.

The Atlas Lions’ head coach Walid Regragui is scheduled to reveal the team’s roster next week. Adli’s choice to play for Morocco on the international scene comes as the national football team gets ready for forthcoming international matches.

In addition to being thrilled with Adli’s selection, Moroccan fans are also expecting that Lamine Yamal, another potential player, will be named to the team’s roster soon.

It is expected that Yamal will select Morocco over Spain to represent the country.

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The Atlas Lions of Morocco will take on Cote d’Ivoire in a friendly match in October in preparation for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The announcement was revealed in a press conference by Yacine Idriss Dialo, president of the Cote d’Ivoire Football Federation (FIF), following the conclusion of the 61st Ordinary General Assembly on Friday.

Dialo made an announcement about Cote d’Ivoire’s preparations for the AFCON at the event, emphasizing that his team will play friendlies in September and October.

On September 12, the Cote d’Ivoire team is scheduled to play an unnamed opponent, however the president specified that an exhibition match against the Atlas Lions of Morocco is scheduled to take place at the Ebimpe stadium on October 14.

The Atlas Lions have participated in a number of friendly matches since winning the World Cup.

In the encounter against Brazil, Morocco’s team was able to continue its strong World Cup showings, becoming the first Arab team in history to defeat the footballing giant.

However, the Atlas Lions were unable to triumph in their friendly against Cape Verde and Peru, as both games ended in scoreless draws.

More recently, on June 17, South Africa defeated Morocco 2-1 in an AFCON qualification match, drawing ire from the crowd.

Walid Regragui, the head coach of Morocco, made it clear in a post-game press conference that he wants to give new members of the team opportunities.

“As I said before, I don’t care if I lose two or three games before AFCON but there were important lessons that we learnt today. In the second half, we gave more intensity but, in the end, Bafana Bafana deserved the victory,” he said. “I changed a lot to see other players and that is what I wanted to see in this game.”

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Following the Moroccan national team’s 1-2 loss to their South African opponent in the penultimate round of the African Cup of Nations qualifications, national coach Walid Regragui expressed his extreme dissatisfaction.

Despite the defeat, Regragui admitted that the setback at this point might improve the team’s performance in the future as it gives them time to evaluate their tactics before the finals.

Regragui congratulated the South African team during the post-game press conference, highlighting their well-earned victory on home soil.

He praised them for their outstanding performance and positive attitude throughout the game. Regragui acknowledged that his squad did not play at their peak during the opening period, giving their opponents multiple opportunities—an inexcusable error at such a crucial point in the match.

He did, however, underline his disregard for a few defeats in the run-up to the African Nations Cup finals, suggesting that his remarks might have had an impact on the players’ perspective.

“In the second half, we played with renewed enthusiasm and created numerous scoring chances. However, in the end, our opponents proved more deserving of the win.”

“We made several changes in this match, aiming to observe and evaluate as many players as possible. Some players gained points to secure their return to the national team, while others failed to impress. This was the purpose of the meeting—to gain a clearer perspective.”

“I stand by my initial statement,” the coach insisted. For the time being, our first priority is to take a rest and really get ready for the African Cup of Nations finals in September. All teams face difficulties in June since many players have just finished a taxing European season. To demand more than they are capable of doing at this point, when exhaustion is common, would be unfair.

Read Also: Morocco defeated in South Africa friendly 1-2

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The Moroccan national football team lost to South Africa in a qualifying match for the African Cup of Nations on Saturday. The host team won the game 2-1 in the final score.

South Africa defeated Morocco early on in the match by scoring a goal. Throughout the remainder of the first half, the Moroccan squad encountered many difficulties and defensive slip-ups that almost led to a second goal for their opponents.

Morocco’s offensive efforts were ineffective the whole first half and did not offer a serious danger to South Africa’s goal. So, with the home team leading by one goal, the referee blew the whistle to signify the conclusion of the first half.

The Moroccan team struggled much more throughout the second half. South Africa extended their lead with a second goal within the first five minutes of the second half, replicating the conditions of the previous goal.

Hakim Ziyech succeeded in scoring a goal in the 60th minute, cutting Morocco’s deficit. However, crucial mistakes in the Moroccan defense during the final few minutes of the game allowed the South African squad to come close to scoring a third goal.

Morocco’s national team dropped to second place in Group 11 standings as a result of this loss, earning 6 points. The national team of South Africa increased their score to 7 points, which gave them the tournament lead.

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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) stated on Thursday that the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), planned to take place in Côte d’Ivoire, will be held from January 13 to February 11, 2024.

The first game will take place at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan, on Saturday, January 13, 2024, the CAF announced in a statement.

The same source also stated that the four-week competition will formally end on February 11, 2024.

According to the release, the formal draw for this CAN will take place in September, and the date and location will be announced in due course.

Six nations have qualified for the competition, including the hosts, Cote d’Ivoire, following this past weekend’s round of qualifications. They are Senegal, the reigning African champion, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, South Africa, and Morocco.

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Walid Regragui, coach of the national team, spoke at a press conference on Monday about racist and anti-Islamic content published on social networks by an employee of the five-star Eurostars hotel in Madrid.

In response to a question from reporters, Regragui said the young employee should be forgiven for posting illegal photos of Atlas Lions during the dinner and including racist and anti-Islamic slurs. “We don’t accept what he did, but we are Muslims and we want to show people that in Islam you have to forgive,” Regragui said. He added that the boy was young, about 19 or 20 years old, and would not take responsibility for his actions.

Regragui cited the holy month of Ramadan and the values ​​of Muslims and the Moroccan people to explain his decision to induct the employee. Regragui suggested: “We reject racism, but he probably never left his country to know the difference, he didn’t know what Islam was and he never met an Arab.”

The coach also emphasized the importance of showing forgiveness and invited the young employee to experience Moroccan and Islamic culture firsthand. “We forgive him. If he wants to come to our house and see how Moroccans and Muslims are doing, how Ramadan is going on and how he feels, he is welcome.”

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The Atlas Lions’ performance against the Seleção in a friendly match on Saturday night was more than remarkable. Morocco made history once again, becoming the first Arab country to beat Brazil, the top-ranked team in the FIFA rankings.

This victory was celebrated by the Atlas Lions with about 65,000 Moroccan fans, most of whom traveled to Tangier to attend the first match of the Moroccan selection since the World Cup, which has completed Morocco’s achievement in the semi-finals of the world in Qatar 2022.

And the international press has not failed to react to this achievement. The French daily L’Equipe headlined: “Morocco offers a gala victory against Brazil”, while the sports newspaper Foot Mercato, focused on the performance of Azzedine Ounahi, with the headline: “Morocco-Brazil: Azzedine Ounahi still impresses”.

In its article, the Spanish sports newspaper AS, entitled “Morocco extends its dream”, talked about “the comfort felt by the Atlas Lions against one of the strongest football teams in the world”, in particular the trio of Azzedine Ounahi, Hakim Ziyech, and Sofiane Boufal, underlining that from the start of the match, Morocco showed that it was ready to face any type of match and opponent.

Also, the Spanish newspaper underlined that the Moroccan selection had no difficulty in maintaining its superiority against the Seleção, which tried to break the Atlas Lions’ defense without succeeding, except for some actions of Vinicius and Rodrigo.

The British press also did not miss this great football event. The British Daily Mail declared, in interaction with the results of the Moroccan-Brazilian friendly, that “the specialists of the surprise at the World Cup in Qatar always maintain their level”, noting that Sofiane Boufal and Abdelhamid Sabiri, spoiled Casemiro’s joy of playing for the first time as a captain of the Brazilian team, the newspaper pointed out.

As for the Arabic website Kooora, it stated that the Moroccan national team “guided by Walid Regragui, managed to break the Brazilian complex that accompanied the Lions after the two defeats and 5 goals scored in the history of the two teams, as he managed in the third game to score his first goal against Brazil before Abdelhamid Sabri concluded with a second goal.

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Players, coaches, and medical staff from the Moroccan national team paid a visit to the nearby Sale jail this morning to mark the beginning of the 12th term of its Spring University.

To celebrate the victory of the Atlas Lions in the most recent World Cup in Qatar, the prisoners of the neighborhood jail surprised the players by painting images of them on the prison walls.

Members of the national squad interacted with the artwork created by Sale Prison convicts by posting the drawings on social media.

The prisoners decorated the walls of the prison with drawings of King Mohammed VI sporting the Moroccan national team jersey, as well as drawings of the players, the coach, and the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, in addition to a choir performance and displaying sculptures they had made.

In preparation for their forthcoming match against Brazil on March 25 in Tangier, the Atlas Lions have officially regrouped.

This will be the Moroccan team’s first match following their extremely successful World Cup run in Qatar, which saw them get to the semifinals of the most prestigious football championship in the world.

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The Atlas Lions started to arrive on Sunday at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Maamora. The group will be complete this Monday with the arrival of those who played Sunday with their clubs. On the agenda, is the preparation of the prestigious friendly match against the Brazilian selection (March 25) and the one against Peru (March 28).

After a historic World Cup, the Atlas Lions are meeting at the Mohammed VI Football Complex to prepare for their two upcoming friendly matches, against Brazil, scheduled for March 25 at 10 pm at the Grand Stade de Tanger, then against Peru, in Madrid, Spain, on March 28. The players called up for this gathering began to arrive on Sunday. The group will be complete today with the arrival of the last players. And as usual, the training camp should start smoothly with a light session on Monday. The players will be entitled, from Tuesday to rhythmic sessions until the day of the match against Brazil.

The Atlas Lions know very well that they must give an excellent performance against the Seleçao if they want to win and offer at the same time a nice gift to their supporters, to celebrate in the joy and good mood their historic journey in the World Cup. This match will certainly be played in front of a full house. For the Atlas Lions, the hardest part begins. They will have to redouble their efforts to remain at the highest level. Walid Regragui knows it well, he will have to play the competition card. And that is why seven new players have been called up for this gathering.

The training session of the Atlas Lions open to the media
The national coach, Walid Regragui, has scheduled a training session on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, which will be open to the media for the first 15 minutes, starting at 6 pm. This session will take place at the Mohammed VI Football Complex. Journalists will have the opportunity to interview the players called up for this first gathering of the year 2023.

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