Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi says the Atlas Lions have earned global respect after knocking the Netherlands out of the World Cup on penalties and reaching the last 16.
Morocco beat the Dutch 3-2 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw, with Ismael Saibari scoring the decisive penalty after goalkeeper Yassine Bounou had denied Crysencio Summerville. The result sent Morocco through to face co-hosts Canada in the Round of 16.
“Morocco has gained everybody’s respect now,” Ouahbi told reporters after the match. “It’s not because of what we’ve said. We’ve now shown it.”
Morocco were World Cup semi-finalists in 2022. Now, under Ouahbi, they are trying to prove that run was not a one-off explosion, but the start of a deeper football identity.
Morocco Played For More Than Football
Ouahbi said his players were driven by something bigger than the scoreboard.
He said Morocco’s senior team and youth sides are fighting for more than simply winning matches, because millions of supporters are carrying the team emotionally from home.
The coach noted that the match was played when it was around 2am in Morocco, adding that he believed many supporters stayed awake to watch the team.
The Atlas Lions are no longer just playing tournament football. They are carrying expectation from Casablanca to Rabat, from the Moroccan diaspora to the wider African audience that sees their run as part of a larger continental rise.
Ouahbi Points To Control
The match ended in penalties, but Ouahbi rejected any idea that Morocco had simply survived chaos.
He said Morocco controlled the game, claiming his side had the superior possession, shots and expected-goals profile against the Netherlands. The coach said the Atlas Lions stayed calm, trusted their football and believed that Bounou could make the difference if the tie reached penalties.
“We wanted to stay calm, play our game and believe that if it went to penalties we had an exceptional goalkeeper,” Ouahbi said.
That confidence showed in the shootout.
Bounou has already built a reputation as one of Morocco’s defining tournament figures. Against the Netherlands, he gave Morocco the platform to finish the job, before Saibari delivered the final kick that sent the Atlas Lions through.
Netherlands’ Low Block Seen As Respect
Ouahbi also said he was surprised by the Netherlands’ defensive approach.
The Moroccan coach said he had expected the Dutch to be more aggressive with the ball, but instead saw their low block as a sign of Morocco’s growing stature. The Guardian’s post-match reaction report also noted that Ouahbi described the Netherlands’ defensive shape as a form of respect.
That detail sharpens the meaning of Morocco’s win.
This was not just an upset by an underdog. It was a match where one of Europe’s historic football nations adjusted to Morocco’s threat. For Ouahbi, that was proof that the Atlas Lions are no longer being treated as a surprise package.
They are being treated as a problem.
Canada Warning Comes Next
Morocco’s reward is a last-16 meeting with Canada, and Ouahbi knows the danger of turning belief into complacency.
Current reports confirm Morocco will face Canada next after the penalty-shootout win over the Netherlands.
Ouahbi said nobody can stop Morocco if they play the football they know how to play, but he also warned that nobody is unbeatable and that mistakes can still send teams home.
Morocco have momentum. They have belief. They have a goalkeeper built for pressure and a squad that now sees itself as part of a national mission.
But the knockout stage is ruthless.
The Netherlands have already gone home. Germany have already gone home. Morocco’s challenge is to make sure their respect does not turn into relaxation.
For Ouahbi and the Atlas Lions, the message is clear.
Respect has been earned. Now it has to be defended.
