Morocco national futsal team

MoroccoNickname(s)| Lions of the Atlas
اسود الاطلس
Irzem 'n Atlas

|

Association| Royal Moroccan Football Federation
Confederation| CAF (Africa)
Head coach|  Hicham Dguig
Home stadium| Salle Mohammed V
FIFA code| MAR
FIFA ranking| 6th (June 2024)
Highest FIFA ranking| 6th (June 2024)
Lowest FIFA ranking| 6th (June 2024)

Home colours

Away colours

|

First international
Belarus 4–1 Morocco
(Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; February 11, 1995) [1]
Biggest win
Morocco 16–0  Somalia
(Dammam, Saudi Arabia; June 21, 2022)
Biggest defeat
Egypt 7–0 Morocco
(Cairo, Egypt; July 31, 2004)[2]
FIFA World Cup
Appearances| 4 (First in 2012)
Best result| Quarter finals (2021, 2024)
Africa Futsal Cup of Nations
Appearances| 6 (First in 2000)
Best result|  Champions (2016, 2020, 2024)
Arab Futsal Cup
Appearances| 6 (First in 1998)
Best result|  Champions (2021, 2022, 2023)

The Morocco national futsal team, nicknamed Ousoud Al Atlas (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.[3]

## History

[edit]

Morocco were runners-up in both the 1998 Arab Futsal Championship and the 2000 African Futsal Championship[4] and finished in third place in the 2008 African Futsal Championship.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7] Four years later, they successfully defended their title on home soil with a 5-0 win against the Pharaohs in the final.[8][9]

On 29 May 2021, They won their first Arab cup title after defeating hosts Egypt 4-0 in the final.[10] 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.[11] They were knocked out in the quarter-finals after narrowly losing 1-0 to Brazil.[12][13] The following year, they claimed their second Arab cup title after defeating Iraq 3-0.[14][15] On 5 September 2022, they were ranked 8th in the Futsal world ranking ahead of Italy and behind Kazakhstan.[16]

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.[17][18][19]

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.[20]

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.[21] 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).[22] 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.[23][24]

## Competitive record

[edit]

### FIFA Futsal World Cup

[edit]

FIFA Futsal World Cup record

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

#### Futsal Confederations Cup

[edit]

Futsal Confederations Cup record

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

### Africa Futsal Cup of Nations

[edit]

Africa Futsal Cup of Nations record

Year  | Round  | Pld  | W  | D  | L  | GS  | GA  | DIF
1996 | 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
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

[edit]

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
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

[edit]

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
2010 | Runners-up | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 5 | +16
Total | 2/3 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 13 | +31

## Head-to-head record

[edit]

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

[edit]

FIFA published the Futsal World Ranking for the first time in May 2024.[25][26]

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

[edit]

### Current squad

[edit]

The following players were called up to the squad for the 2023 Arab Futsal Cup.

No.  | Pos.  | Player  | Date of birth (age)  | Caps  | 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 24) |  |  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 31) |  |  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 24) |  |  SCC Mohammédia

### Recent call-ups

[edit]

The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months.

Pos. | Player  | Date of birth (age)  | Caps  | Goals  | 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 28) |  |  |  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

[edit]

FIFA Futsal World Cup squads

* 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup squad
* 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup squad
* 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup squad

Africa Futsal Cup of Nations

* 2020 Futsal Africa Cup of Nations squad
* 2024 Futsal Africa Cup of Nations squad

|

## Honours

[edit]

### Official competitions

[edit]

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

[edit]

CFA International Futsal Tournament

* Champions: 2019[27]

Futsal Week Winter Cup

* Champions: 2020[28]

Continental Futsal Championship

* Champions: 2022[29]

Rabat International Futsal Tournament

* Champions: 2023[30]

Croatia International Futsal Tournament

* Champions: 2023[31]

Vietnam International Futsal Tournament (Ho Chi Minh City)

* Champions: 2024[32]

## See also

[edit]

* Sport in Morocco
* Morocco national football team

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Group C: Morocco (Fifa Futsal World Cup)".
2. ^ "Group C: Morocco (Fifa Futsal World Cup)".
3. ^ "African futsal kings: We have the quality for the next stage of the World Cup". futsalfeed.com. March 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
4. ^ "African Futsal Championship Overview". RSSSF. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
5. ^ "African Futsal Championship Overview". RSSSF. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
6. ^ "goalzz.com: Live sports scores, news and more". www.goalzz.com. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
7. ^ Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Octet hunt for Futsal crown in Morocco | Total Futsal Africa Cup of Nations". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
8. ^ "2020 Africa Futsal Cup of Nations Highlights: Morocco 5-0 Egypt (FT)". beIN SPORTS USA. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
9. ^ "Futsal 2020: Morocco Wins African Cup of Nations – The North Africa Post". Retrieved June 28, 2022.
10. ^ Soliman, Seif (May 29, 2021). "Morocco win first Arab Futsal Cup after thrashing Egypt". KingFut. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
11. ^ "Morocco qualifies for the quarter-finals of the Futsal World Cup after defeating Venezuela (3-2)". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. September 22, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
12. ^ Haskouri, Khouloud. "Brazil Ends Morocco's Impressive, Historic Participation in 2021 Futsal World Cup". moroccoworldnews. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
13. ^ "Morocco's Futsal World Cup journey comes to end after quarter final defeat". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. September 26, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
14. ^ "Arab Futsal Cup: Morocco's Atlas Lions retain their regional title – The North Africa Post". Retrieved June 28, 2022.
15. ^ "Morocco crowned champion of Arab Futsal". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. June 28, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
16. ^ "Morocco ranks among top 10 countries in futsal world ranking". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. September 5, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
17. ^ Zouiten, Sara. "Morocco Beats Iran, Wins 2022 Continental Futsal Championship". Morocco World News.
18. ^ "Morocco's futsal team crowned victory title, defeating Iran 4-3". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. September 16, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
19. ^ https://www.flashscore.com/futsal/world/continental-championship-2022/results/
20. ^ Sahnouni, Mariya. "Morocco Defeats Kuwait 7-1 to Win Its Third Arab Futsal Cup". moroccoworldnews. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
21. ^ "Morocco wins the organization of the African Futsal Cup". Hespress - هسبريس جريدة إلكترونية مغربية (in Arabic). January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
22. ^ "Clinical Atlas Lions put Zambia to the sword, Angola thrash Ghana to secure semis berth". Clinical Atlas Lions put Zambia to the sword, Angola thrash Ghana to secure semis berth. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
23. ^ "Morocco ease past Angola to clinch record-equalling third Futsal AFCON title". Morocco ease past Angola to clinch record-equalling third Futsal AFCON title. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
24. ^ "Morocco's futsal team opens Africa Cup with victory over Angola". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
25. ^ https://inside.fifa.com/en/fifa-rankings/futsal-world-ranking
26. ^ "Brazil boss maiden FIFA Futsal Men's World Ranking". www.fifa.com. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
27. ^ "CFA International Futsal Tournament 2019 :: Final Phase:: playmakerstats.com". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
28. ^ Idrissi, Khaoula (March 7, 2020). "Futsal: Morocco Wins an International Tournament in Croatia". Maroc Local et Nouvelles du Monde | Nouvelles juives du Maroc, dernières nouvelles | מרוקו ג׳וייש טיימס, חדשות מרוקו והעולם | Morocco News | أخبار المغرب. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
29. ^ Zouiten, Sara. "Morocco Beats Iran, Wins 2022 Continental Futsal Championship". Morocco World News.
30. ^ https://m.kooora.com/?n=1232898
31. ^ https://www.achkayen.com/492300/.html
32. ^ "International friendly futsal tournament 2024: Morocco wins the title". March 31, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Morocco FA official site

* v
* t
* e

Football in Morocco

* National Association
* GNF
* Coupe Msabih Talaa

National teams|

| Men|

* National team
* Local team
* Olympic (U-23)
* U-20
* U-17

|

Women|

* Women
* U-20
* U-17

League system|

| Men|

* Botola
* Botola 2
* National
* Amateurs I (2 sections)
* Amateurs II (4 groups)
* Regional Leagues (11 leagues)

|

Women|

* W-Championship
* W-Championship D2

Domestic cups|

| Men|

* Throne Cup
* Excellence Cup
* Moroccan Super Cup

|

Women|

* W-Throne Cup

Awards|

* Footballer of the Year
* Top scorers

Lists|

* All-time Table
* Champions
* Clubs
* International footballers
* Foreign players
* Venues

* Men's clubs
* Women's clubs
* Men's players
* Women's players
* Expatriate players
* Managers
* Referees
* Venues
* Seasons
* Records
* Moroccan foreign players

* v
* t
* e

National futsal teams of Arab World (UAFA)

* Algeria
* Bahrain
* Comoros
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Iraq
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* Lebanon
* Libya
* Mauritania
* Morocco
* Oman
* Palestine
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Somalia
* Sudan
* Syria
* Tunisia
* United Arab Emirates
* Yemen

Arab Futsal Championship

* v
* t
* e

National futsal teams of Africa (CAF)

Futsal Africa Cup of Nations

North Africa (UNAF)|

* Algeria
* Egypt
* Libya
* Morocco
* Tunisia

West Africa (WAFU)|

* Ivory Coast
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Mauritania
* Nigeria

East Africa (CECAFA)|

* Somalia
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Uganda

Central Africa (UNIFFAC)|

* Cameroon
* Congo DR
* Equatorial Guinea
* São Tomé and Príncipe

Southern Africa (COSAFA)|

* Angola
* Comoros
* Madagascar
* Mauritius
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* South Africa
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Non-regional Members|

* Réunion1

1 Regional team, an associate member of CAF but not a member of FIFA

* * *

* v
* t
* e

National sports teams of Morocco

* Badminton
* Baseball
* Basketball
* M
* M U18
* W
* Beach soccer
* Cricket
* Football
* M
* M-A
* M U23
* M U20
* M U17
* W
* W U20
* W U17
* Futsal
* Handball
* M
* W
* Ice hockey
* Rugby league
* Rugby union
* M
* M7
* Softball
* Tennis
* M
* W
* Volleyball
* M
* W
* Water polo

* Olympics
* Paralympics
* Youth Olympics

*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pos.]: Position
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template