Algeria legend Rabah Madjer questions Morocco’s approach against France

Algeria football legend Rabah Madjer has questioned Morocco’s tactical approach in their 2-0 defeat to France, claiming the Atlas Lions’ cautious start played a major role in their exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Morocco’s campaign ended in the quarter-finals on Thursday after France secured victory to progress to the semi-finals, bringing an end to the Atlas Lions’ run as Africa’s last remaining representatives.

Madjer blames cautious approach

Speaking on MBC 1’s Our Club programme, Madjer argued that Morocco approached the match with too much caution and allowed France to dictate proceedings from the outset.

“Fear is what made the Moroccan national team retreat, and when I saw the way they started the match, I said it was a bad start.”

The former Algeria international believes Morocco’s defensive approach encouraged France to take control of the contest.

“When you start the match defensively, you give the French team a signal that you are afraid of them, which gives them the opportunity to control, attack and look for goals, and they found them in the second half.”

Madjer said Morocco should have adopted the same mentality they showed in previous matches during the tournament.

“The Moroccan team should not have been afraid, should have imposed its personality on the match, and should have played as it did against the Netherlands and Brazil, while acknowledging the strength of the French team, and that it was the most prominent candidate to advance.”

He added that Morocco only began to show greater attacking intent after France had already established control of the game.

“The Moroccan team only started to move in the second half, after the French team had the game in its hands and scored two goals, especially since it has two teams, one of which is the main team, and the reserve team is stronger than it.”

Knockout progress also questioned

Madjer also downplayed Morocco’s Round of 32 victory over the Netherlands, arguing that their progression owed much to the penalty shootout.

“If the Moroccan national team had lost to the Netherlands, we wouldn’t be saying this now, but they managed to advance through penalty kicks.”

Comments spark debate

Madjer’s assessment prompted criticism from former Morocco coach Rachid Taoussi and ex-Tunisia international Radhi Jaïdi, who defended the Atlas Lions’ progress and pointed to the team’s long-term planning and tactical development as key factors behind another impressive World Cup campaign.

Morocco finished as the only African and Arab nation to reach the quarter-finals of the 2026 tournament, extending the momentum built by their historic run to the semi-finals at the 2022 FIFA World Cup despite their defeat to France.