Wahbi Reshapes Morocco's National Team Post-World Cup
The World Cup is over. The real work for Morocco starts now.
Barely weeks after the Atlas Lions’ quarter-final exit at the 2026 World Cup, head coach Mohamed Wahbi has moved from reflection to action, preparing a sweeping reshuffle that could redraw the national team’s hierarchy before the next international window.
This is not a gentle evolution. It looks like a clear break.
Federation Backs Wahbi – and His Overhaul
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation has already made its call: Wahbi stays. Despite the 2–0 defeat to France in the last eight of a tournament shared between the United States, Canada and Mexico, the coach retains the trust of his employers.
That backing has given him the freedom to be ruthless.
Wahbi has spent the post-tournament period reassessing the players who carried Morocco to the quarter-finals. The conclusion he seems to have reached is blunt: the squad, especially the bench, needs more variety, more edge, and more answers when games tighten.
He wants fresh blood. And some big names are about to feel the consequences.
Six World Cup Faces Set to Be Cut
According to Moroccan outlet Sport7, Wahbi has already decided to exclude six players who were part of his World Cup squad from the group expected to be named for the September international break.
- Ayoub El Kaabi
- Sofyan Amrabat
- Amine Sbai
- Youssef Belammari
- Marwan Saadane
- Goalkeeper Munir Mohamedi
For a core that helped carry Morocco onto the global stage, it is a brutal reality check. The message is unmistakable: past service does not guarantee future selection.
Sport7 also reports that more changes could follow. Among those whose places are under threat are Halhal and Amimoni, with Wahbi ready to widen the clear-out as he reshapes the group in his image.
No sentiment. No waiting.
New Faces, New Ideas
The reset will begin in earnest at the international camp scheduled for the end of September. Wahbi plans to call up a number of new players, using the window as a live laboratory for his next tactical phase.
He is searching for different profiles, alternative patterns, and greater flexibility across the pitch. The bench, in particular, is set for a makeover, with the coach determined to have options that can change a game rather than simply cover positions.
The quarter-final run in North America proved Morocco can live among the world’s elite. Wahbi’s response suggests he believes they can do more than that.
The question now is not whether Morocco will look different in the coming months.
It is how quickly this new version of the Atlas Lions can roar.
