Morocco Beats Benin 1-0 in Football Friendly

The Moroccan football team defeated their Beninese counterparts 1-0 in a friendly match played at the Fez Sports Complex on Monday evening.

The Atlas Lions’ goal was scored by Ayoub El Kaabi (45th+2).

Morocco’s national football team defeated Tunisia 2-0 in a friendly fixture held on Friday at the Fez Grand Stadium.

After a dominant, yet goalless first half, Morocco managed to move the needle in the second with two goals through in-form Achraf Hakimi who opened the scoring in the 80th minute, before Ayoub El Kaabi dealt the final blow in additional time (90’+3).

The national team will play another friendly against Benin on June 9 at the Fez Sports Complex.

These two friendly matches are part of a comprehensive preparatory program designed to strengthen cohesion within the squad and give players extra playing time ahead of the forthcoming official matches.

MAP: 06 June 2025

Morocco’s U17 national football team will play two international friendlies next month as part of its preparations for the FIFA U17 World Cup, scheduled to take place in Qatar from November 3 to 27.

The team will take on Canada on June 3 at 16:00 local time, followed by a match against Japan on June 6 at 12:30. Both fixtures will be held in the Spanish city of Alicante, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation announced on Wednesday.

The friendlies form part of the national squad’s build-up to the tournament, where Morocco has been drawn in Group B alongside Japan, New Caledonia, and Portugal.

Morocco’s national head coach Walid Regragui unveiled on Tuesday the 27-player squad selected for the upcoming friendly fixtures against Tunisia and Benin, scheduled for June 6 and 9 at the Fez Sports Complex.

Kick-off for both games is set for 9:00 p.m. (GMT+1).

The list of the selected players is the following:

– Goalkeepers:

Munir El Kajoui (RS Berkane), Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal FC, Saudi Arabia), El Mehdi Benabid (Wydad Casablanca).

– Defenders:

Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Omar El Hilali (Espanyol Barcelona, Spain), Abdelkabir Abqar (Deportivo Alavés, Spain), Abdelhak Assal (RS Berkane), Jawad El Yamiq (Al Wehda FC, Saudi Arabia), Oussama El Azzouzi (Bologna FC, Italy), Adam Massina (Torino FC, Italy), Zakaria El Ouahdi (KRC Genk, Belgium), and Youssef Belaamri (Raja Casablanca).

– Midfielders:

Azzeddine Ounahi (Panathinaikos, Greece), Bilal El Khannous (Leicester City, England), Sofyan Amrabat (Fenerbahçe, Turkey), Oussama Targhalline (Feyenoord Rotterdam, Netherlands), Amir Richardson (Fiorentina, Italy), and Ismail Saibari (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands)

– Forwards:

Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid, Spain), Eliesse Ben Seghir (AS Monaco, France), Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain, UAE), Maroan Sanadi (Athletic Bilbao, Spain), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos, Greece), Youssef En-Nesyri (Fenerbahçe, Turkey), Hamza Igamane (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Oussama Sahraoui (Lille, France) and Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Real Betis, Spain).

Morocco’s U-20 national team fell 1–0 to South Africa in the AFCON final on Sunday in Cairo, with Gomolemo Kekana netting the lone goal in the 70th minute.

Third place went to the Nigerian team, which beat its Egyptian counterpart 4–1 in a penalty shootout (1–1 at the end of regulation time).

All four semifinalists have qualified for the final phase of the U20 World Cup, which will take place in Chile from September 27 to October 19.

The Moroccan U-20 football team has qualified for the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) by defeating Egypt 1-0 on Thursday at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo.

Morocco’s winning goal was scored by Jones El-Abdellaoui in the 77th minute.

Mohamed Ouahbi’s men will face the South African team in the final, after the latter secured a 1-0 victory over Nigeria in Ismailia, with Tylon Christopher Smith scoring the decisive goal in the 66th minute.

All four semifinalists have qualified for the U20 World Cup, which will take place from September 27 to October 19 in Chile.