Morocco boss 'wants to resign' with World Cup just four months away

Tom Weber

• 6 Feb 2026 09:10 CST
• 4 min read

News

Morocco head coach Walid Regragui has put forward his resignation despite the World Cup being just four months away, according to reports in France.

Things have turned sour for the Atlas Lions since they were on top of the world during the 2022 World Cup. The neutrals' darlings in Qatar, Regraui's men impressed with their exciting style of play and became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals.

Moroccan football has made great strides in recent years, particularly at the youth level. The U17s won the 2025 African Cup of Nations, while the U20s won the World Cup last year.

Morocco has invested heavily in its footballing infrastructure and hosted the senior AFCON tournament in December. It will also be one of the host nations for the 2030 World Cup. This hasn't been without controversy, though.

Due to the vast disparities in the standard of living in Morocco, protestors have wondered why the government is pumping money into football when it could instead provide better welfare for the people, such as improved health care, particularly in rural areas.

Regragui wants to resign

Morocco is a football-crazy nation, making it a potential powder keg when things aren't going well. Despite success at the youth level, things haven't been great for the senior side since 2022.

At AFCON 2023 (held in early 2024), Morocco topped their group but embarrassingly crashed out against South Africa at the round of 16 stage. Just over a year after becoming a national hero, Regragui began facing criticism.

The Atlas Lions' World Cup qualifying campaign proved to be a stroll in the park. Morocco had the easiest qualifying group and won all of their eight matches.

The AFCON on home soil in December and early January looked to be a similarly easy ride. The pressure was on Morocco to win the tournament, and they initially dealt with it expertly, storming to the final while playing amazing football.

But then everything infamously unravelled in the final against Senegal. Brahim Diaz became a worldwide laughing stock on social media when he saw his stoppage-time Panenka penalty saved by Edouard Mendy. Senegal went on to win in extra time.

This was a bigger blow than the premature exit in 2023, and Foot Mercato reports that, after a few weeks of reflection, Regragui has now proffered his resignation to the Moroccan federation.

The 50-year-old is said to have become "weary" of his "gruelling" job and no longer believes that he is the right man to take his country forward, despite boasting the best record in the national team's history.

However, it is as yet unclear how the federation will respond to his unexpected decision. If they accept, they will have to find a new head coach with the 2026 World Cup just four months away.

If they decline, they will head into the tournament with a coach who is no longer confident in his own ability. The Moroccan powder keg could explode before the World Cup has even kicked off.

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