World Cup 2026: Morocco handed one of the toughest routes to final

Morocco’s path at the 2026 FIFA World Cup has already become one of the most demanding faced by any nation at the tournament, with the Atlas Lions repeatedly drawn against some of the highest-ranked teams in world football.

French publication Foot Mercato highlighted the difficulty of Morocco’s campaign, noting that among the tournament’s 88 scheduled matches, only two have involved clashes between nations ranked inside FIFA’s Top 10. Morocco have featured in both encounters.

The Atlas Lions, currently ranked sixth in the world, opened their campaign against fifth-ranked Brazil before being paired with seventh-ranked Netherlands in the Round of 32.

Morocco’s Difficult Route Sparks Debate

Morocco’s challenging draw has reignited discussions surrounding the structure of the expanded 48-team World Cup format.

Despite finishing level on points with Brazil in Group C, Morocco ended the group stage in second place due to goal difference, forcing them into an early knockout meeting with one of the competition’s strongest sides.

At the same time, several third-placed teams received noticeably less difficult routes into the knockout rounds, leading some supporters online to question the balance of the tournament bracket.

Other Round of 32 fixtures also featured second-placed teams facing each other directly, including the meeting between Canada and South Africa.

Foot Mercato described Morocco as “the least spared team” in the tournament so far because of the quality of opposition Mohamed Ouahbi’s squad has encountered since the start of the competition.

Atlas Lions Showing Strong Character

While the draw has been unforgiving, Morocco have responded impressively on the pitch.

The Atlas Lions progressed through the group stage unbeaten, beginning with a hard-fought draw against Brazil before recording victories against Scotland and Haiti.

Those performances strengthened confidence within the squad and reinforced Morocco’s growing reputation as one of Africa’s strongest football nations following their historic World Cup run in Qatar four years ago.

Mohamed Ouahbi’s side have also shown tactical flexibility throughout the tournament, adapting to different styles of opposition while maintaining composure under pressure.

Netherlands Clash Among Standout Knockout Fixtures

Morocco’s Round of 32 meeting with the Netherlands is widely viewed as one of the headline fixtures of the knockout stage.

The Dutch also collected seven points during the group phase and arrive as one of the tournament favourites, creating what many observers expect to be one of the most competitive and technically balanced ties of the round.

For Morocco, the challenge is another opportunity to prove they can compete consistently against elite international opposition.

After navigating one of the toughest routes in the tournament so far, the Atlas Lions now aim to continue their World Cup journey and keep alive hopes of another historic campaign on football’s biggest stage.