Morocco's U-20 triumph a testament to strategic investment in soccer excellence

Morocco’s sustained and deliberate investment into sports, particularly soccer, is continuing to pay dividends for the country. This after the Moroccan U-20 men’s soccer side beat Argentina 2-0 to win the U-20 Fifa World Cup in Chile recently.

The Atlas Cubs qualified for the global tournament by reaching the final of the 2025 junior Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). In that May decider, the Moroccans were vanquished 1-0 by South Africa’s Amajita.

At the World Cup (which took place from 27 September to 19 October 2025) the South Africans could not leverage their African champions status. 

Raymond Mdaka’s men were eliminated in the round of 16 after falling 3-1 to Colombia. Morocco made no such slip-ups as they reached the pinnacle of global soccer for the first time.

Resolute Atlas Cubs  

The North African nation sent a strong message of intent in the group stage. The Moroccans beat former champions at this level, Brazil and Spain. The team’s only defeat of the tournament came via a 2-1 loss to Mexico, in the final group game. They still topped the mini-league with six points.

After that came South Korea, whom they beat 2-1 to move into the quarterfinals. Then they swatted aside the US with a 3-1 win. In the last-four, France’s U-20s proved to be a tough takedown for the Atlas Cubs. 

But Mohamed Ouahbi’s men persevered for a 5-4 victory on penalties after a 1-1 stalemate.

Then it came down to a battle with record U-20 champions Argentina. The six-time winners were no match for the ravenous Atlas Cubs as a brace by forward Yassir Zabiri sealed the deal for Morocco. In the process, they became just the second African nation to win the youth title, following in the footsteps of Ghana’s success in 2009.

Return on investment

Of course, this achievement by the young men of Morocco is not an isolated event. It’s just another piece of a puzzle that the leaders of Morocco have been putting together for a number of years now. 

It’s the same strategy that saw the men’s senior side make history by reaching the semifinals of 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

It’s the same action plan that has seen the Moroccans dominate the African Nations Championship, which is essentially the Afcon for locally based players. The Atlas Lions have won three of the last four editions of the auxiliary continental tournament, including success in 2025.

Investment has not only been directed to men’s soccer. All-round intentionality has seen Morocco soar to become one of the leaders of women’s soccer on the continent. As a consequence, the Atlas Lionesses have reached two of the last two Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) finals.

With Morocco hosting the 2026 edition, it’s probably just a matter of time before the country lands its first Wafcon.

Afcon calling

The men are also the hosts of the 2025 Afcon in December. They will be targeting just their second title in Africa’s flagship national soccer competition. 

Morocco’s sole Afcon title came all the way back in 1976 — just four years after the north Africans made their debut in the biennial tournament. At that time, they were the new kids on the block, but they made everyone stand up and take notice.

In the subsequent years following that success, the Atlas Lions’ Afcon performances have been unpredictable. Along the way there were failed qualification bids, disappointing group exits as well as a handful of semifinal placings.

With the country’s sustained investment in soccer — spearheaded by Mohammed VI, the king of Morocco — the likelihood of the Moroccans ending their lengthy African drought on home soil is extremely high. The recent global conquest by the Atlas Cubs will fuel this belief among Moroccans.

How it started

Morocco’s current and future success on the soccer field is fuelled by strategy more than hope. In 2007 King Mohammed VI sanctioned the construction of an academy. And so the Mohammed VI Football Academy was born in 2010.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation has also played its part by ensuring that the institution continues to produce young men and women hungry to represent their country on the global stage.

“Today we’re seeing significant, tangible progress in the development of football in Morocco, at all levels. Whether for men, women or girls,” Fathi Jamal, the federation’s director of technical development, told Fifa.

“I usually don’t like to personalise things… But it should be recognised that federation president Fouzi Lekjaa is the person who believed in the development of football. He’s the one who put the strategy in place for this work, and today we’re seeing its results at all levels.

“The achievements began to pile up in 2021 across both the men’s and women’s game, thanks to groundwork laid just prior to that. But in terms of development, since 2021 there’s been tremendous momentum and impressive results. Today we’re seeing it play out across the national teams.      

“We also can’t overlook the major role played by the Mohammed VI Football Academy, a pioneer in this field. They’ve done remarkable work with young players. We also have other strong club academies today, such as ASFAR, FUS Rabat and Berkane. They are some of the clubs that have engaged seriously with this approach.”

Bright future

Morocco will co-host the 2030 men’s soccer World Cup alongside Spain in Portugal, becoming just the second African nation after South Africa to bring the biggest sports spectacle in the world to the continent.

A few players who were part of the U-20 triumph in Chile may find themselves in the senior team at that World Cup. But coach of the Atlas Cubs, Ouahbi, believes the country can even showcase the its soccer development at next year’s World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada.

“We are not waiting until the 2030 World Cup to become world champions. Morocco will try again in 2026,” said Ouahbi.

Before that, the Moroccans have another platform to showcase their qualities — at the Qatar-hosted U-17 World Cup. They head to that tournament, which will be held in November, as the reigning African champions. DM