World Cup 2026: Inside Morocco’s mission to become football powerhouse

Morocco have had the talent to do so with the help of their diaspora, as well as those players born in the country.

The country’s ministry of foreign affairs, external estimates more than five million Moroccans live abroad.

Morocco have sought to identify and reach out to promising players with such roots at an early stage by deploying full-time scouts in France, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Jennings said they are “embraced as Moroccans”.

“You don’t get a feeling that it’s a second nation,” he said. “They are totally into being Moroccan. It’s a passion they have and a nationality they feel strongly about.”

The results are rather striking.

Nineteen of the 26 members of Morocco’s current World Cup squad were born outside the country.

Six of these individuals were also eligible to play for quarter-final opponents France, including highly rated Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi.

Although the 18-year-old represented Les Bleus throughout the age groups at youth-team level, he was always proud of his heritage.

So too was Spain’s teenage starlet Lamine Yamal, who has a Moroccan father, and the RMFF even met and presented to him and his family.

Ward stressed “no stone is left unturned” when it comes to talent identification, even if it does not always come off.

“I remember they were talking about Yamal, this huge prospective talent at Barcelona, when he was about 12 or 13 years of age,” he recalled.