The Morocco national under-23 football team, also known as the Morocco Olympic football team, represents Morocco in international football competitions such as 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 Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
History
Summer Olympics (1964–2004) 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. 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 was the best performance of the Atlas Lions at the Olympic football tournament until 2024.
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.
First Continental Final During the inaugural 2011 CAF U-23 Championship held in Morocco. The host nation coached by Pim Verbeek, recorded narrow 1-0 victories against both Nigeria and Algeria, before losing to Senegal. 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 to date after just 30 seconds. This marked the return of the Atlas Lions to the Olympic football tournament having missed out on qualifying in 2008. 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.
Golden generation (2022–) 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. Their campaign kicked off on a positive note with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Guinea, 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. They went on to win the semi-final against Mali and qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games. They defeated Egypt 2-1 in the final to win their first ever continental title. The team was congratulated by King Mohammed VI for their achievement.
On 29 February 2024, Tarik Sektioui was appointed head coach of the men's Olympic squad by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. In Paris 2024, Morocco debuted in group B with a 2–1 victory against Argentina, followed by a 2–1 defeat against Ukraine and a 3–0 victory against Iraq. Topping their group with six points ahead of Argentina on the head-to-head record, Morocco thus reached the knockout stage for the first time since 1972. They defeated the United States 4-0 in the quarterfinals, reaching the semifinals for the first time ever. In the semifinal, Morocco lost 2–1 against Spain. They then won 6–0 against Egypt in the third place to win the bronze medal.
Results and fixtures
Legend
2023
2024
Coaching staff Position NameHead coach Tarik SektiouiAssistant coach(es) Youssouf Hadji Fahd El OuargaFitness coach Grégory DelhomelGoalkeeping coach Laurent DeraedtTechnical director Chris Van PuyveldeVideo analyst Damien Januel
Players Current squad The following players have been called up for the friendly matches against Mali and Tanzania on 1 and 5 October 2026.
Caps and goals correct as of 1 October 2026, after the match against Maly.
Recent call-ups The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.
Notes PRE = Preliminary squad/standby.
Previous squads
Football at the Summer Olympics squads Olympics 1992 squad Olympics 2000 squad Olympics 2004 squad Olympics 2012 squad Olympics 2024 squad
U-23 Africa Cup of Nations squads CAF U-23 2011 squad AFCON U-23 2023 squad
Football at the Islamic Solidarity Games Islamic Games 2005 Islamic Games 2013 Islamic Games 2017 Islamic Games 2021
Overage players in Olympic Games TournamentPlayer 1Player 2Player 3 El Houssaine Ouchla (DF) Adel Chbouki (MF) Salaheddine Bassir (FW) Nadir Lamyaghri (GK) Otmane El Assas (MF) Bouchaib El Moubarki (FW) Houssine Kharja (MF) Nordin Amrabat (FW) Munir Mohamedi (GK) Achraf Hakimi (DF) Soufiane Rahimi (FW)
Competitive record Olympic Games
Olympic Games recordYearRoundPositionPldWDLGFGA Until 1988See Morocco national football team 1992Group stage15th301228 1996Did not qualify 2000Group stage16th300317 2004Group stage10th311133 2008Did not qualify 2012Group stage11th302123 2016Did not qualify 2020 2024Bronze medal3rd6402175 2028To be determined 2032 TotalBronze medal5/9185492526
Prior to the Barcelona 1992 campaign, the Football at the Summer Olympics was open to full senior national teams.
U-23 Africa Cup of Nations U-23 Africa Cup of Nations recordAppearances: 2YearRoundPldWDLGFGA 2011Runners-up530265 2015Did not qualify 2019 2023Champions5410125Total2/4107121810
UNAF U-23 Tournament UNAF U-23 Tournament recordAppearances: 3 / 4YearRoundPositionPldWDLGFGA 2006-------- 2007Third place3rd 2010Runners-up2nd320163 2011Third place3rd201112 2015Cancelled
Islamic Solidarity Games Islamic Solidarity Games recordYearRoundPosition 2005 Silver Medal2nd522142 2010Cancelled 2013 Gold Medal1st430163 2017Group stage5th312021 2021Group stage5th311154 2025No football tournament heldTotal1 title4/4157531710
Honours
Intercontinental Football at the Summer Olympics Bronze medal (1): 2024
Continental U-23 Africa Cup of Nations Winners (1): 2023 Runners-up (1): 2011
Other UNAF U-23 Tournament Runners-up (1): 2010 Third Place (2): 2007, 2011
Islamic Solidarity Games Runners-up (1): 2005
Toulon tournament Runners-up (1): 2015
See also
Morocco national football team Morocco national under-20 football team Morocco national under-17 football team
Notes
References