# Morocco national futsal team

The Morocco national futsal team, nicknamed أسود الأطلس (Lions of the Atlas), represents Morocco in international futsal competitions. It is affiliated to the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and is one of the strongest teams in the world.
The team has notably won 3 Africa Futsal Cup of Nations and 3 Arab Futsal Cup titles. They qualified for the World Cup four times, first appearing in 2012. Their best World Cup run was in 2021 and 2024, when they reached the quarter-finals.

## History

Morocco were runners-up in both the 1998 Arab Futsal Championship and the 2000 African Futsal Championship and finished in third place in the 2008 African Futsal Championship.
At the 2010 UNAF tournament in Libya, the Moroccan national team recorded comprehensive wins against Algeria 7-2, and Palestine 7-1, and a 4-4 draw against Tunisia. However, they lost against Libya 4-3 in the final and finished as runners-up.
That same year, the Moroccan team also competed in the Mediterranean Futsal Cup which also took place in Libya. After finishing second in their group with 4 points, the Atlas Lions fell to a 1-5 defeat against the eventual champions Croatia. The Moroccans would bounce back in the placement play-offs, where they defeated both Bosnia and Herzegovina 5-3 and Lebanon 6-2 to claim fifth place. Hicham Dguig won the best coach award while the player Yahya Baya featured in the team of the tournament.
On 24 April 2016, Morocco won its first ever African title after defeating Egypt 3-2 in the final. Four years later, they successfully defended their title on home soil with a 5-0 win against the Pharaohs in the final.
On 29 May 2021, They won their first Arab cup title after defeating hosts Egypt 4-0 in the final. In the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup, Morocco qualified to the knockout stages for the first time after finishing second in the group stage with 5 points following a 6-0 win against Solomon Islands and two draws against both Thailand and the eventual champions Portugal. They were knocked out in the quarter-finals after narrowly losing 1-0 to Brazil. The following year, they claimed their second Arab cup title after defeating Iraq 3-0. On 5 September 2022, they were ranked 8th in the Futsal world ranking ahead of Italy and behind Kazakhstan.
In September 2022, Morocco took part in the Continental Futsal Championship, a yearly friendly tournament hosted by Thailand. After a 2-2 draw against the hosts and a 4-2 win against fellow African side Mozambique in the first round, Morocco edged past Finland 4-1 in the semi-final. In the final, the Atlas Lions defeated Iran 4-3 to win their first title.
On 16 June 2023, Morocco defeated Kuwait 7-1 in the final, to win its third Arab cup title, becoming the outright most successful team in the competition in the process.
Morocco qualified for the 2024 Futsal Africa Cup of Nations with the country later being awarded the hosting rights of the tournament for the second consecutive time following the withdrawal of Mozambique. After topping their group with ease, with notably a 13-0 thrashing of Zambia in their last group game (their opponent's all-time worst defeat to date). The hosts lifted the trophy for the third time in a row after beating Angola 5-1 in the final, thus tying with Egypt as the most successful teams in the competition.

## Competitive record
### FIFA Futsal World Cup

FIFA Futsal World Cup record :
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GS | GA | DIF |
| 1989 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1992 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1996 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2000 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2004 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2008 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2012 | Group stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 15 | −10 |
| 2016 | Group stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 14 | −8 |
| 2021 | Quarter-finals | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 7 | +6 |
| 2024 | Quarter-finals | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 15 | +1 |
| Total | 4/10 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 40 | 51 | −11 |

#### Futsal Confederations Cup

Futsal Confederations Cup record :
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GS | GA | DIF |
| 2009 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2013 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2014 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| Total | 0/3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |

### Africa Futsal Cup of Nations

Africa Futsal Cup of Nations record :
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GS | GA | DIF |
| 1996 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2000 | Runners-up | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 12 | +12 |
| 2004 | Semi-Finals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | −8 |
| 2008 | Third place | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 11 | +9 |
| 2011 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2016 | Champions | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 10 | +7 |
| 2020 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 | +22 |
| 2024 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 6 | +31 |
| Total | 6/7 | 25 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 124 | 51 | +73 |

#### Arab Futsal Cup

Arab Futsal Cup record :
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GS | GA | DIF |
| 1998 | Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 19 | +11 |
| 2005 | Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 15 | +15 |
| 2007 | Fourth Place | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 18 | −6 |
| 2008 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 2021 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 | +24 |
| 2022 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 6 | +40 |
| 2023 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 6 | +26 |
| Total | 6/7 | 38 | 27 | 0 | 5 | 176 | 66 | +110 |

### North African Futsal Tournament

North African Futsal Tournament record :
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GS | GA | DIF |
| 2005 | Runners-up | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 8 | +15 |
| 2009 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 2010 | Runners-up | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 5 | +16 |
| Total | 2/3 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 13 | +31 |

## Head-to-head record

The following table shows Morocco's head-to-head record in the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Azerbaijan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 000.00 |
| Brazil | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 000.00 |
| Iran | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 033.33 |
| Panama | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 050.00 |
| Portugal | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 000.00 |
| Solomon Islands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 100.00 |
| Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 000.00 |
| Tajikistan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 100.00 |
| Thailand | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 000.00 |
| Venezuela | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Total | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 40 | 51 | −11 | 031.25 |

## World ranking

FIFA published the Futsal World Ranking for the first time in May 2024.
| Africa | World | Country | Points |
| 1 | 6 | Morocco | 1430.55 |
| 2 | 37 | Egypt | 1098.56 |
| 3 | 47 | Angola | 1054.42 |
| 4 | 50 | Libya | 1046.24 |
| 5 | 51 | South Africa | 1041.84 |
| 6 | 62 | Equatorial Guinea | 999.11 |
| 7 | 76 | Ivory Coast | 974.01 |
| 8 | 90 | Zambia | 954.34 |
    As of September 2024

## Players
### Current squad

The following players were called up to the squad for the 2023 Arab Futsal Cup.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club |
| 1 | 1GK | Abdelkrim Anbia | (1989-04-08) 8 April 1989 (age 35) | ASF Agadir |
| 12 | 1GK | Reda Khiyari | (1990-06-21) 21 June 1990 (age 34) | CL Ksar El-Kebir |
| 4 | 2DF | Youssef Jouad | (1999-12-30) 30 December 1999 (age 25) | SCC Mohammédia |
| 5 | 2DF | Anas Taybi | (1996-03-25) 25 March 1996 (age 28) | CL Ksar El-Kebir |
| 6 | 2DF | Soufiane Borite | (1992-12-11) 11 December 1992 (age 32) | FC Kemi |
| 17 | 2DF | Othmane El-Idrissi | (1999-08-07) 7 August 1999 (age 25) | CL Ksar El-Kebir |
| 3 | 4FW | Anás El-Ayyane | (1992-10-30) 30 October 1992 (age 32) | Ribera Navarra FS |
| 7 | 4FW | Ismail Amazal | (1996-10-10) 10 October 1996 (age 28) | ASF Agadir |
| 8 | 4FW | Saad Knia (captain) | (1987-09-06) 6 September 1987 (age 37) | SCC Mohammédia |
| 9 | 4FW | Otmane Boumezou | (1992-07-08) 8 July 1992 (age 32) | SCC Mohammédia |
| 10 | 4FW | Soufian Charraoui | (1996-11-15) 15 November 1996 (age 28) | Mouvaux Lille MF |
| 11 | 4FW | Mohamed Kamal | (2001-07-20) 20 July 2001 (age 23) | Club Feth Settat |
| 13 | 4FW | Hamza Maimón | (1991-07-11) 11 July 1991 (age 33) | Levante UD |
| 14 | 4FW | Idriss Raiss El-Fenni | (1996-05-09) 9 May 1996 (age 28) | SCC Mohammédia |
| 15 | 4FW | Khalid Bouzid | (1998-04-20) 20 April 1998 (age 26) | Industrias Santa Coloma |
| 16 | 4FW | Anas Dahani | (1999-12-14) 14 December 1999 (age 25) | SCC Mohammédia |

### Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club | Latest call-up |
| GK | Mohammed Cheridou | (1999-09-20) 20 September 1999 (age 25) | Oussoud Khabazat | v. France, 18 April 2023 |
| DF | Yassin Salhi | (1999-10-01) 1 October 1999 (age 25) | AS Martil | v. France, 18 April 2023 |
| DF | Bilal Bakkali | (1993-02-24) 24 February 1993 (age 31) | Étoile Lavalloise MFC | v. France, 18 April 2023 |
| DF | Achraf Saoud | (1990-06-21) 21 June 1990 (age 34) | SCC Mohammédia | v. Latvia, 22 December 2022 |
| FW | Anas Bakkali | (1998-09-05) 5 September 1998 (age 26) | Étoile Lavalloise MFC | v. France, 18 April 2023 |
| FW | Soufiane El-Mesrar | (1990-06-05) 5 June 1990 (age 34) | Étoile Lavalloise MFC | v. France, 18 April 2023 |
| FW | Saadallah Hajibi | (2001-11-06) 6 November 2001 (age 23) | Oussoud Khabazat | v. Japan, 14 April 2023 |
| FW | Anass Nasser | (1996-01-10) 10 January 1996 (age 29) | FC Kemi | v. Iraq, 2 March 2023 |
| FW | Khalid Kouri | (1993-11-20) 20 November 1993 (age 31) | CL Ksar El-Kebir | v. Iraq, 2 March 2023 |
| FW | Youssef El-Mazray | (1987-07-01) 1 July 1987 (age 37) | SCC Mohammédia | v. Latvia, 22 December 2022 |
| $^{COV}$ Player withdrew from the squad due to contracting COVID-19. $^{INJ}$ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. $^{PRE}$ Preliminary squad. $^{RET}$ Retired from international futsal. |||||||

### Previous squads
## Honours
### Official competitions

Africa Futsal Cup of Nations
* Champions: 2016, 2020, 2024 (Shared-Record)
* Runner-up: 2000
* Third-place: 2008, 2004
Arab Futsal Cup
* Champions: 2021, 2022, 2023 (Record)
* Runners-up: 1998, 2005
UEFS Futsal Men's Championship
* Runners-up: 1995

### Friendly Tournaments

CFA International Futsal Tournament
* Champions: 2019
Futsal Week Winter Cup
* Champions: 2020
Continental Futsal Championship
* Champions: 2022
Rabat International Futsal Tournament
* Champions: 2023
Croatia International Futsal Tournament
* Champions: 2023
Vietnam International Futsal Tournament (Ho Chi Minh City)
* Champions: 2024