Morocco doesn’t get to do the cute underdog thing anymore.

That’s not a shot. If anything, it’s a pretty hefty compliment.

The 2022 World Cup run was too good, too loud, and too historic to just fade into the background as one of those fun tournament stories everyone remembers for a few weeks and then moves on from. Morocco didn’t just win a game they weren't supposed to win. They didn’t just have one magical afternoon where everything broke right. They topped a group with Croatia and Belgium, knocked out Spain, beat Portugal, and became the first African and Arab nation to reach a World Cup semifinal.

That kind of run doesn’t disappear. It changes the way everyone looks at you.

And that’s where Morocco sits now heading into the 2026 World Cup. The question isn’t whether they can surprise people. They already did that.

Now the question is tougher. Can Morocco handle being respected?

That’s a different kind of pressure. It’s one thing to walk into a tournament with everyone treating you like a nice story until proven otherwise. It’s another thing to show up with teams already circling your name.

Morocco earned that. Now they have to live with it.

The Surprise Is Gone, And That’s The Point

In Qatar, Morocco became one of the best stories in modern World Cup history because every time people waited for the run to cool off, they just kept going.

Early in the tournament, they still felt like a really good, organized team having a nice stretch. Then Belgium happened. Then Spain. Then Portugal. Eventually, the conversation stopped being about luck and started being about how good they actually were.

They were disciplined, connected, and flat-out miserable to play against. Yassine Bounou looked completely calm in chaos. Achraf Hakimi was everywhere. Sofyan Amrabat cleaned up everything in midfield. The back line threw bodies around for 90 minutes and they had just enough attacking quality to punish teams once they got frustrated or stretched out.

More than anything, they believed in exactly how they wanted to play.

That’s what made the run feel real. They weren’t just surviving and praying for the clock to save them. There was an actual plan behind it all. They stayed compact and defended like crazy, dragging bigger-name teams into ugly games those teams clearly didn’t want to play.

That’s why the underdog label started feeling weird even during the run itself. Sure, Morocco was still the smaller soccer power compared to the teams they were beating. But by the semifinal, they didn’t feel like some random Cinderella story anymore. They looked like a team that fully understood why they were there.

And that matters now because 2026 starts from a completely different place.

Nobody’s looking at Morocco now thinking, “Maybe they’ll be a fun little surprise.” That already happened. The world saw it. Opponents saw it. Coaches saw it.

Now teams are going to prepare for Morocco with real respect. Not fear in the Brazil or France sense, but real respect. The kind where nobody overlooks you anymore.

That’s the new reality they created for themselves.

This Is What Respect Looks Like

The biggest sign Morocco’s standing has changed isn’t even the 2022 run itself. It’s everything that’s happened since.

They come into this World Cup as Africa’s top-ranked team and sit eighth in FIFA’s rankings, the highest spot in their history. That’s not people hanging onto old Qatar memories. The soccer world genuinely views them differently now.

The qualifying run backed it up too. Morocco became the first African team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and went a perfect eight-for-eight while allowing just two goals.

That’s not some Cinderella run anymore. That’s a team controlling games and handling business.

When you’re the underdog, everything feels free. Every win feels bigger than expected. Nobody really cares if the game gets ugly. Nobody’s sitting there nitpicking style points.

But once teams respect you, the expectations change fast. A sloppy draw gets dissected. A close win over a smaller team suddenly feels disappointing to some people. Fans don’t just want the memories from 2022 anymore. They want proof that wasn’t a one-off.

And Group C kind of shows the whole challenge in one shot.

Brazil is still Brazil. That shirt still carries weight no matter how much people try to convince themselves otherwise every four years. That game’s a measuring stick for Morocco in every way.

Scotland is a totally different fight. They’re back in the World Cup for the first time in nearly three decades, and they’re going to make games physical and annoying in the best possible way.

Then there’s Haiti, which honestly might be the sneakiest pressure game of the group. Because if Morocco is really past the underdog phase, those are the matches they have to handle cleanly. No weird emotional letdown. No surviving by the skin of their teeth and calling it tournament chaos.

That’s the tradeoff that comes with respect. You don’t just get to hunt giants anymore. Sometimes you’re the team everyone else is trying to knock off.

The Man Behind Morocco’s Rise Is Gone

Walid Regragui stepping down just months before the World Cup tells you everything about how much things have changed around this team.

This is the same manager who took Morocco to a World Cup semifinal and turned them into one of the toughest teams in international soccer to play against. By normal standards, that’s the kind of run that gets you treated like a legend forever.

And he still walked away with criticism hanging over him. But that’s what happens when expectations explode this fast.

Morocco won a ton under Regragui. They reached heights no African team had ever reached at a World Cup. But once people stop being shocked you’re good, the questions change. Suddenly it becomes: what’s next? Why didn’t AFCON feel cleaner? Why did the attack look stale at times? Can the same formula still work now that nobody overlooks them anymore?

That’s the tough part about respect. Fans start expecting more.

Regragui reportedly said Morocco needed a new vision and different energy, and honestly, that line says a lot. This isn’t just some random coaching change. It feels like Morocco officially entering a new phase.

They’re not asking if they can compete anymore.

Now they’re asking if they can become one of those teams that expects to compete every single tournament.

That’s what makes Mohamed Ouahbi such an interesting replacement. He’s not some panic hire thrown into the job. He already has ties to the bigger Morocco project after leading the U20 side to a World Cup title.

Still, a real World Cup is a different pressure entirely.

Ouahbi can know the players and understand the system, but there’s no easy way to walk into a World Cup with Brazil in your group and an entire country expecting more than just a respectable showing.

There’s Still A Little Underdog In There

Here’s the weird spot Morocco’s in now: they’re not really the underdog anymore, but they’re not part of the World Cup royalty club either.

Against Brazil, Morocco can still lean into that “everyone expects them to beat us” energy. Brazil’s still Brazil. Five stars on the shirt changes the feeling of a game before the ball’s even kicked.

But against Scotland and Haiti? Totally different pressure.

Those aren’t games where Morocco walks in as the lovable surprise anymore. They’re the team with the semifinal run, the higher ranking, and the expectation to move on. That’s new.

A normal group-stage exit would feel like a real disappointment now. Even a flat knockout loss probably wouldn’t sit well. And honestly, maybe that’s the best way to look at Morocco right now. Not really an underdog. Not fully a favorite either.

That’s a completely different conversation than the one they were in four years ago.

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