Morocco_national_under-23_football_team

Morocco national under-23 football team

Morocco national under-23 football team

National association football team

The Morocco Olympic football team represents Morocco in international football competitions in the Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except during the Olympic Games where up to three overage players is allowed. The team is controlled by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF).

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...

History

Morocco's first appearance was in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In a group that consisted of three teams following North Korea's withdrawal. They suffered a heavy 0-6 defeat to Hungary - Morocco's all-time heaviest defeat to date -, then lost 1-3 to Yugoslavia and were eliminated.

Their second appearance was supposed to be during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico but Morocco refused to allow its team to play against Israel in Group C due to political issues.[1] They were eventually replaced by Ghana which lost 2-3 on aggregate to Morocco in the last qualifying round.

In the 1972 edition in Munich, Morocco reached the second round as runners-up in their group with 3 points following a goalless draw against the United States, a resounding 6-0 win against Malaysia and a 0-3 loss to hosts West Germany. In the second round, The Atlas Lions lost all three games against Denmark, Poland and the Soviet Union. However, it remains the best performance of the Atlas Lions at the Olympic football tournament to date.

Morocco came extremely close to reaching the quarter-finals in the 2004 Summer Olympics, narrowly missing out on goals scored that favored Costa Rica. Morocco were 2-1 ahead in their final group game against already-qualified Iraq thanks to goals scored by Bouabid Bouden and Salaheddine Aqqal. However, in the other game, Costa Rica's Pablo Brenes scored the fourth goal in added time to seal a 4-2 win over Portugal and qualification at Morocco's expense.[2]

During the inaugural 2011 CAF U-23 Championship held in Morocco.[3] The host nation coached by Pim Verbeek, recorded narrow victories against heavy favourites Nigeria and Algeria before losing to Senegal.[4] In the semi-finals, Morocco successfully secured a spot in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London by defeating Egypt 3-2 in a tense game which also saw Abdelaziz Barrada scoring the fastest goal in the history of the tournament (as of 2023) after 30 seconds. This marked the return of the Atlas Lions to the Olympic football tournament having missed out on qualifying in 2008.[5] However, they faced a setback when they suffered a 2-1 defeat against the surprising contender, Gabon, in the final held at the Marrakech Stadium.[6]

First continental title

On 7 July 2022, Morocco were awarded the hosting rights of the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, marking the return of the U-23 team to the competition for the first time in 12 years.[7][8][9] Their campaign kicked off on a positive note with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Guinea,[10] followed by a resounding 5-1 triumph over Ghana, emerging as group winners and securing a place in the semifinals with one game to spare.[11][12] They went on to win the semi-final against Mali and qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games.[13][14] They defeated Egypt 2-1 in the final to win their first ever continental title.[15][16] The team was congratulated by King Mohammed VI for their achievement.[17][18]

On 29 February 2024, Tarik Sektioui was appointed head coach of the men's Olympic squad by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.[19]

Results and fixtures

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Voided or Postponed   Fixture

2023

22 March 2023 Friendly Morocco  2–3  Ivory Coast Rabat, Morocco
 Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah
Attendance: 0
24 March 2023 Friendly Morocco  2–0  Togo Rabat, Morocco
 Report Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah
Attendance: 0
27 March 2023 Friendly Morocco  3–0  Uzbekistan Rabat, Morocco
 Stadium: Stade Moulay Hassan
Attendance: 0
16 June 2023 Friendly Morocco  4–1  Mauritania Rabat, Morocco
 Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah
Attendance: 0
20 June 2023 Friendly Morocco  3–1  Zambia Rabat, Morocco
  • Siankombo 71'
 Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah
Attendance: 0
24 June 2023 2023 U-23 AFCON GS Morocco  2–1  Guinea Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah
Referee: Omar Abdulkadir Artan (Somalia)
27 June 2023 2023 U-23 AFCON GS Morocco  5–1  Ghana Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1
Report
  • Adams 43'
 Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah
Referee: Patrice Mebiame (Gabon)
30 June 2023 2023 U-23 AFCON GS Congo  0–1  Morocco Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1 Report Taha 7' Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah
Referee: Mahmoud Nagi (Egypt)
4 July 2023 2023 U-23 AFCON SF Morocco  2–2 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)		  Mali Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah
Referee: Pierre Ghislain Atcho (Gabon)
Penalties
8 July 2023 2023 U-23 AFCON Final Morocco  2–1 (a.e.t.)  Egypt Rabat, Morocco
 Report
  • Saber 10'
 Stadium: Stade Moulay Abdellah
Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)
7 September 2023 Friendly Morocco  1–0  Brazil Fez, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1
Stadium: Fez Stadium
Referee: Sow Sandigui (Senegal)
11 September 2023 Friendly Morocco  Cancelled  Brazil Fez, Morocco
Stadium: Fez Stadium
12 October 2023 Friendly Morocco  0–1  Iraq Casablanca, Morocco
Report
Stadium: Père Jégo Stadium
16 October 2023 Friendly Morocco  3–1  Dominican Republic Casablanca, Morocco
 Report
  • Gómez 36'
 Stadium: Père Jégo Stadium
16 November 2023 Friendly Morocco  0–3  Denmark San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
15:00 Report
Stadium: Pinatar Arena
21 November 2023 Friendly Morocco  1–0  United States San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
15:00
Report Stadium: Pinatar Arena

Competitive record

Olympic Games record

Main article: Morocco at the Olympics
More information Olympic Games, Year ...

U-23 Africa Cup of Nations

More information U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, Appearances: 2 ...

UNAF U-23 Tournament

More information UNAF U-23 Tournament, Appearances: 3 / 4 ...

Islamic Solidarity Games

More information Football at the Islamic Solidarity Games record, Year ...

Coaching staff

More information Position, Name ...

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations from 24 June to 8 July 2023 in  Morocco.

Coach: Issame Charaï

The final squad was announced on 9 June 2023.

More information No., Pos. ...

Previous squads

Overage players in Olympic Games

More information Tournament, Player 1 ...

Honours

Winners (1): 2023
Runners-up (1): 2011
Runners-up (1): 2010
Third Place (2): 2007, 2011
Runners-up (1): 2015
Third Place (1): 1991
Runners-up (1): 2005

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Kasraoui, Safaa. "Moroccan Football Returns to Olympic Games After 12 Years of Absence". Morocco World News. p. 1.
  2. [2]
    "Olympic Football Finals - Athens 2004". www.goalzz.com. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  3. [3]
    "Morocco to host Olympic tourney". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  4. [4]
    "Morocco, Egypt chase Olympic spot". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  5. [5]
    "Morocco through to Olympic Games". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  6. [6]
    "Gabon win first continental title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  7. [7]
    Latrech, Oumaima (7 July 2022). "Morocco to Host U23 AFCON Tournament in 2023". Morocco World News. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  8. [8]
    "CAF unveils the host country of the AFCON U-23 2023". AfrikPage. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  9. [9]
    "Hosts Morocco get Ghana, Congo and Guinea at TotalEnergies U23 AFCON draw". CAF. 5 May 2023.
  10. [10]
    "Moroccan U-23 team beats Guinean counterpart 2-1". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-06-24. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  11. [11]
    Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "TotalEnergies U23 AFCON: Morocco secure semi-final berth with impressive win over Ghana | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  12. [12]
    "Morocco dominates Ghana with 5-1 victory, advances to U23 Africa Cup of Nations Semi-Finals". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-06-27. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  13. [13]
    "CAN U23: Morocco join Egypt in the final and qualify for the Olympic Games". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  14. [14]
    Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Morocco triumphs over Mali to reach final, seal Olympics berth | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  15. [15]
    "Morocco's U23 team crowned with African Cup of Nations". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-08. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  16. [16]
    Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Morocco win maiden TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations title with victory over Egypt | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  17. [17]
    "King Mohammed VI congratulates national U23 team for their victory, qualification to Paris '24 Olympics". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-09. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  18. [18]
    Kasraoui, Safaa. "U-23 AFCON: King Mohammed VI Congratulates Atlas Lions". moroccoworldnews. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  19. [19]
    "Tarik Sektioui appointed Morocco's new U23 manager". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  20. [20]
    "Islamic Games". Rsssf. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
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