Morocco will attempt to improve on their fifth-place finish from 2022 when they compete at the Amputee Football World Cup in Mexico from 13 to 22 November.
The tournament will be held in San Juan de los Lagos, where Morocco have been drawn in Group E alongside Uruguay, the United States and Uzbekistan. The opening phase will pit the Moroccan team against three opponents from three different continents, as they aim to progress beyond the group stage.
Their fixture against the United States is scheduled for 15 November local time in Mexico, although the timetable remains subject to change. The group-stage pairings have been confirmed, but none of the results has yet been decided.
Morocco’s delegation consists of 19 people: 15 players and four members of the administrative, technical and medical staff. The playing squad includes three goalkeepers and 12 outfield players.
Othmane Najmi is in charge of the national team, whose squad was reduced during the preparation period. A group of 20 players had initially been discussed before five were omitted from the final selection, leaving 15 players – a reduction of one quarter.
In an interview with SNRTnews on 1 November, Najmi said preparations had begun in April and continued through training camps in May, June and August. The team then played two friendly matches against Poland in Marrakech in September, before the squad was cut from 20 to 15.
A final training camp was scheduled to take place in Oulmes from 3 to 9 November, shortly before the team travelled to Mexico for the World Cup.
Morocco’s previous appearance provides the benchmark for their ambitions. At the 2022 tournament in Turkey, the team reached the quarter-finals and ultimately finished fifth, giving them experience of progressing deep into the competition and competing in classification matches.
Najmi has set the target of reaching the podium this time. That is the coach’s stated ambition rather than an achieved result or a guarantee of a medal.
To move towards that objective, Morocco must first negotiate their three Group E matches against Uruguay, the United States and Uzbekistan. The outcome of that opening stage will determine whether the team can build on its fifth-place finish and challenge for a place among the tournament’s top three.
