2026 FIFA WORLD CUP
World Cup 2026: A new generation of Lions in search of glory
The thermometer of popular passion is once again close to the peaks. Four years after the stratospheric epic of Doha, which had transformed every alley of the Kingdom into a carnival and made the greatest analysts of the football world stutter, the Atlas Lions have set foot on North American soil. In the land of Uncle Sam, beware of the historical stiff neck: by dint of looking in the rear-view mirror to contemplate the enchanted mirage of 2022, we could forget that football has no mercy for the nostalgic. Past exploits do not guarantee any preferential treatment, and certainly not against Brazil who are waiting for our big cats in Group C.
The Moroccan public, true to its reputation, has already booked its tickets, configured its giant screens and validated its tactical theories in the cafés of Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, or Agadir. The expectation is no longer just great, it has become pachydermic. In 2022, our Lions were the exquisite surprise. In 2026, we are the team to beat! The change of status is accompanied by a shiver of demand, the people will no longer be satisfied with a last stand. He wants, demands confirmation. To lead this campaign, the "genius of the lawyer" Walid Regragui is gone and Mohamed Ouahbi is in place.
The 49-year-old technician, fresh from his world title with the U20s, was propelled to the bench of the senior team with a mission worthy of a balancing act: to inject new blood without diluting the soul of the Doha semi-finalists. A daring, almost impertinent bet, but one of implacable logic. Where others would have rebuilt with a pickaxe, Ouahbi is refining with a scalpel. His list of 26 testifies to this smooth but firm transition. Gone are the days when statutes protected executives who lacked mental or physical freshness. The new boss of the den advocates cold rigor, tacticalobjectivity and instant merit. By integrating dynamic profiles such as Ayyoub Bouaddi or the twirling Yassine Gessime alongside the certainties named Brahim Diaz, Achraf Hakimi and Ismael Saibari, Ouahbi installs a healthy competitive terror. His direction is clear: a football of rapid transition, a suffocating pressing and an iron discipline. It remains to be seen whether the mayonnaise will take the heat of the American spotlight.
A World Cup of 48: Africa at the gates of paradise?
This 2026 World Cup is also the era of gigantic excesses designed jointly by FIFA and the USA. Forty-eight teams on the starting line, a format that looks as much like a global high mass as a giant trade show. If purists are gnashing their teeth at this football marathon, Africa, like Asia, is rubbing its hands. With a historically expanded contingent of representatives, the black continent no longer has any excuses to play the role of extra. And in this expanded concert, it is Morocco that wears, willy-nilly, the costume of conductor. Doha's exploits have shattered the psychological glass ceiling. From now on, seeing an African nation claim the final four – or even more if affinities – is no longer a heresy of the sweet dreamer, but an objective of a development plan. Morocco has shown the way, it is up to it to prove that the path was not an accident.
The 2026 course... With an eye on 2030
"We didn't come here to do tourism or distribute smiles, we are here to do great things. We really hope to make Moroccans proud," said Mohamed Ouahbi on his arrival on the American tarmac. A profession of faith that resonates like a warning. Because beyond the green rectangle of 2026, a much larger score is at stake. This "new generation" of Lions is not only passing an exam in Mexico, Canada or the United States, it is spending its years of internship. Every tackle, every outburst and every goal scored in this North American edition actually lays the foundations of the true promised land: the 2030 World Cup, at home. The ambition is immense, almost dizzying. The Atlas Lions begin their American campaign with the modesty of outsiders and the hunger of conquerors, aware that to be crowned kings at home tomorrow, they must first go and shake up empires on the other side of the world today.
Mondial 2026 : Une nouvelle génération de Lions en quête de gloire
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