The Moroccan night in Santiago feels never-ending. It’s midnight, and the 45,000 fans who packed the stands at Chile’s Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos for the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2025™ are on their way home. The only thing breaking the silence are the youngsters who just made history. They are still celebrating their country’s first-ever World Cup victory in the middle of the pitch where they saw off Argentina over an hour ago.
With cameras flickering, hugs exchanged, and a group portrait now headlining the most illustrious chapter in Morocco’s football history, the team shows no signs of resting on its laurels. Their coach, Mohamed Ouahbi, delivered a cautionary message at the post-match press conference that the world would do well to heed: “We are not waiting until the 2030 World Cup to become world champions. Morocco will try again in 2026.”
With their senior team already qualified for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 26™ in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the new reigning champions will now have time to plan for the future. The story began some time ago, with the semi-finals of Qatar 2022 and a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games now seen as the precursors to this golden era. Their legacy reverberates around the legendary stadium at the foot of the Andes Mountains, now shrouded in darkness.
“I don’t think it gets any better than this,” Ouahbi told FIFA, referring to the road to the title. Not only did Morocco win the tournament, but they did so after overcoming football heavyweights including Spain and Brazil in the group stage, France in the semi-finals, and Argentina in the final. Yassir Zabiri’s brace gave the Moroccans pride of place on the podium, and earned him the Visa Player of the Match honours in the final, alongside the tournament’s Silver Ball.
“We knew that Argentina have lots of experience. They have history on their side, and that helps a lot,” said Morocco’s head coach. “We were expecting them to play aggressively, so we had to keep our composure and we did that brilliantly. It’s difficult to analyse tactics with all the emotions running high, but we scored early and managed to hurt them with balls in behind. They’ve got some really talented players, but we fought hard and defended our box well.”
Argentina coach Diego Placente praised the champions, with the unstoppable Othmane Maamma another who impressed as he claimed the adidas Golden Ball. “Morocco deserve to be champions,” Placente said. “If they get ahead, they drop back as a team. They sat back and let the opposition run at them in every match. While they may not keep possession, they are quick to spring into action and counter-attack. We struggled with that. By the time we got back into the game, we were already 2-0 down and just couldn’t find the goal to put us back in contention.”
Besides their gifted wingers, Morocco relied on a solid defence anchored by their two powerful centre-backs and defended their lead with a tireless collective effort. “Morocco have always been a technically gifted team, and now we have added more physicality, better tactics and a winning mentality. After beating Brazil, we knew we’d be top of the group, but that wasn’t enough. We had to keep winning. We wanted to finish on the podium, and that’s what we told the players,” added coach Ouahbi. “Now we’re world champions and Morocco want to win a senior tournament, and not just by 2030. We’re going to give it a shot in 2026. We’re not going to wait another four years.”
Off the pitch, hundreds of compatriots travelled to Santiago to cheer on their boys as they looked to achieve an historic feat. The Chilean public also turned out in force to support the Morocco team, who were made to feel at home by the hosts. “The Chilean fans have showered us with love since day one. The way they looked after us and treated us, both on and off the pitch and at the hotel, has been incredible” said Ouahbi.
They will head home with extra luggage. Morocco travel home with the U-20 World Cup trophy, individual honours for Maamma and Zabiri, a haul of medals and a crop of young players eager to replicate the success with the senior team.
“It means a great deal because this project has been in the works for many years. It’s momentous for us because it means we’re close to winning the World Cup. We already have players capable of competing against the best,” Ouahbi concluded.
