Former France defender Adil Rami has praised Morocco’s performances at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, insisting the Atlas Lions earned their place in the quarter-finals on merit.
The 2018 World Cup winner believes Morocco’s campaign should be viewed as another sign of the country’s continued rise in international football rather than a surprise run.
“Morocco did not reach the quarterfinals by chance or without deserving it,” Rami said in a video shared online.
His comments came after Morocco’s tournament ended with a 2-0 defeat to France in Boston, where Les Bleus advanced to the semi-finals after goals from Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.
For Rami, however, the result did not diminish what Morocco achieved during the tournament.
Instead, he argued that the Atlas Lions encountered one of the strongest teams in the competition at a time when they were without several influential players.
“The problem is that when you reach the quarterfinals, you come up against one of the main favorites to win the tournament, which was France,” he said.
The former defender believes injuries played a decisive role in the outcome, leaving Morocco without several experienced players capable of influencing such a high-profile encounter.
“In that game, we felt that Morocco badly needed its key players and leaders,” he said. “When I speak about key players, I mean all those who were injured just before the World Cup.”
Morocco’s preparations for the tournament had already been disrupted after defender Nayef Aguerd and winger Abde Ezzalzouli were ruled out through injury before the opening match.
Their problems worsened during the competition when midfielder Ismael Saibari suffered a hamstring injury in the 3-0 victory over co-hosts Canada, forcing him to miss the quarter-final against France.
Saibari had been one of Morocco’s standout performers, scoring in each of the Atlas Lions’ three group-stage matches before converting the decisive penalty in their shootout victory over the Netherlands.
Without the 25-year-old and other key players, Morocco struggled to create clear attacking opportunities against a French side widely regarded as one of the favourites to lift the trophy.
“I think the difference was clearly visible in that match,” Rami added.
Despite the defeat, Morocco’s campaign added another significant chapter to African football’s growing presence on the world stage.
The Atlas Lions became the first African nation to reach the World Cup quarter-finals in consecutive editions after following up their historic semi-final appearance in Qatar in 2022 with another impressive run four years later.
Their journey included eliminating the Netherlands on penalties before producing a convincing victory over Canada to secure a place in the last eight.
Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi admitted after the quarter-final that France had deserved the victory but stressed that his players must use the experience as motivation for future competitions.
