Two World Cups in a row, Morocco changed their head coach months before the tournament. Two World Cups in a row, it worked. That's not luck — that's a pattern worth paying attention to.
Mohamed Ouahbi only took over in March, replacing Walid Regragui after the Africa Cup of Nations. Regragui had done things no African coach had ever done — a World Cup semi-final, then a world record 19 consecutive international wins — and yet he was never truly loved by the fanbase. His exit was messy but not surprising. The assumption was that Morocco would pay the price in the summer.
They haven't. Not even slightly.
Ouahbi's fingerprints are all over this team
In the space of a few months, Ouahbi changed personnel, shifted the tactical structure, and scrapped the traditional centre forward entirely. Ismael Saibari operates as a false nine now, with Azzedine Ounahi pushed higher up the pitch — and the results were immediate. Ounahi scored twice against Canada on Saturday as Morocco became the first side into the quarter-finals.
The tactical tweak matters, but the squad management might matter more. With centre back Nayef Aguerd injured, Ouahbi moved fast — persuading Issa Diop to commit to Morocco and convincing teenage prodigy Ayyoub Bouaddi to switch his international allegiance from France. That last one stings their quarter-final opponents in more ways than one.
Morocco's defensive odds for the knockout rounds look considerably more solid than anyone predicted when Regragui walked out the door.
Africa's graveyard of last-minute coaching calls
The history here is genuinely grim. South Africa ditched Carlos Queiroz before the 2002 World Cup and went nowhere. Nigeria changed coaches ahead of both 2002 and 2010, collecting a single point across six group games. Ivory Coast handed Sven-Goran Eriksson the job with two months to go in 2010 — a squad containing Drogba, Kalou, and Yaya Touré, and they didn't get out of the group.
Morocco are the sole exception to that rule. They were the exception in Qatar. They're the exception again now.
Next up: France in Boston. Thursday. The side Bouaddi turned down to be here.
