FEATURE: What next for Morocco’s Atlas Lions after Walid Regragui’s exit

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation has officially brought an end to speculation about the future of the Morocco national football team by confirming a major change in leadership.

The federation announced the departure of head coach Walid Regragui and the appointment of Moroccan coach Mohamed Wahbi to lead the Atlas Lions into a new phase.

The decision confirms earlier reports that Regragui would step down from his role with the senior national team. Wahbi will now take charge of Morocco’s first team as the federation seeks to build on recent progress and prepare the squad for upcoming international competitions.

Sources indicate that Wahbi will be officially unveiled on Thursday, March 5 during a press conference scheduled to take place at the Mohammed VI Football Complex.

According to federation officials, Wahbi’s appointment is part of a long-term strategic plan aimed at preserving and strengthening Morocco’s recent technical progress. His promotion follows a remarkable milestone achieved with the country’s youth team after guiding Morocco to victory at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile in 2025.

That triumph significantly boosted Wahbi’s reputation in Moroccan football circles and placed him firmly among the most promising coaching figures in the country. Leading the under-20 side to the world title saw Morocco overcome several traditional football powerhouses, including Spain, Brazil and Argentina, on their way to lifting the trophy.

Wahbi’s success with the youth team has been widely celebrated, with many observers crediting him for shaping a new generation of Moroccan talent capable of competing on the global stage.

Born on September 7, 1976 in Brussels, Wahbi holds both Moroccan and Belgian nationalities. Before entering football, he worked as a teacher at Charles Paul School, but his path soon shifted toward coaching when he joined the academy of Belgian giants RSC Anderlecht in 2003.

At Anderlecht, Wahbi spent several years developing young talents across different age categories. He began by working with the under nine team and progressed through various youth levels, eventually coaching the under eleven, under fourteen and under seventeen squads before later taking charge of the club’s under twenty side.

His coaching education was completed in Belgium, where he obtained the prestigious UEFA Pro Licence, the highest coaching qualification awarded by UEFA.

Wahbi’s career continued to evolve when he was appointed coach of Anderlecht’s reserve team in 2012, succeeding Rene Peters. He later joined the first team technical staff as an assistant coach under Besnik Hasi.

During the 2014–2015 season, Wahbi guided Anderlecht’s under-21 side to the semi-finals of the European Youth League, further enhancing his reputation as a specialist in youth development.

He later gained experience abroad in the Saudi Pro League, where he served as an assistant coach to Yannick Ferreira at Al-Fateh SC before concluding that chapter of his career in January 2022.

Later that same year, the Moroccan federation appointed Wahbi as head coach of the national under-20 team. Under his leadership, the young Atlas Lions won the North African Championship and also finished runners-up in the Africa Cup of Nations for the same age category.

Although Wahbi faced criticism when the team initially failed to reach the final stages of the African championship, the federation maintained its confidence in his project. That trust eventually paid off as the team improved significantly, reaching the final of the continental competition and securing another North African title in Egypt.

Reflecting on the youth team’s World Cup triumph, Wahbi said: “We worked hard for three years, and the victory was not a coincidence, but rather the result of a project that began three years ago to create a generation capable of honouring Moroccan football continentally and globally.”

With Regragui’s tenure now concluded, Morocco begin a new chapter under Wahbi’s leadership as the federation looks to build on recent successes and guide the Atlas Lions toward future achievements on the international stage.