Moroccan football is on the rise, reaching the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup and advancing to the final of the 2025 U-20 World Cup by eliminating France.

Can you believe it? Teams that persist in youth development will eventually reap the rewards. The rise of Moroccan football is unstoppable. At 4 a.m. Beijing time on October 16, in the U-20 World Cup semifinals, Morocco drew 1-1 with France and won 5-4 in the penalty shootout, knocking France out and advancing to the final. This marks the first time in history that Morocco’s U-20 team has reached the World Cup final, where they will face the winner of Argentina vs. Colombia for the championship.

Moroccan football has become familiar to fans over recent years. In the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Morocco played the role of a dark horse, topping their group and advancing strongly to the knockout stage. They consecutively eliminated Spain and Portugal, reaching the World Cup semifinals for the first time in their history and ultimately securing third place, setting the best record ever for an African national team in the World Cup.

Moroccan football’s success is evident across all national youth teams. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Morocco’s U-23 team achieved a stunning 6-0 victory over Egypt to claim the Olympic bronze medal.

Fans joke about it: I’ve been to Morocco, and the football there is truly pure. As Coach Xu Yang famously said, “Make full use of the width of the pitch.” In summary, the distinctive rise of Moroccan football is now unstoppable.