Morocco women's U-20
Nickname(s)Atlas Lionesses
AssociationRoyal Moroccan Football Federation
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Head coachAnthony Rimasson
FIFA codeMAR
First colours
Second colours
African U-20 World Cup qualification
Appearances7 (first in 2002)
Best resultSemi finals (2002)
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
AppearancesNone

The Morocco women's national under-20 football team represents Morocco in international youth women's football competitions. The team won the bronze medal in the women's tournament at the 2019 African Games held in Rabat, Morocco.[1][2]

History

Beginnings

The under-20 category of the women's national team emerged in the early 2000s, with Morocco's participation in the African qualifying tournament for the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship in Canada. The Moroccan team progressed to the qualifying semi-finals following the withdrawals of Gambia and Niger. However, unable to face Nigeria, Morocco was forced to forfeit the match. In 2004, Morocco played its first official matches in the qualification rounds for the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship. The team faced Equatorial Guinea in the first round, resulting in a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Morocco was defeated in the second leg by a score of 1-0, thus ending their campaign. Subsequently, the national team remained absent from competitions for nearly eight years.

Tunisia the black beast of Morocco (2012-2014)

During the qualifications for the 2012 World Cup in Japan, the Moroccan national team, led by Abid Oubenaissa, faced their Tunisian counterparts. Morocco was eliminated in the first round of the competition. Although they secured a 1-0 victory in the second leg in Tunisia on March 2, 2012, their efforts were in vain as the first leg had ended with a decisive 5-0 victory for Tunisia. The match, which took place at the Stade municipal in Kenitra on February 18, 2012, saw Amel Majri, who would later represent the French national team, score a double for Tunisia. The rivalry continued in 2013 when Morocco and Tunisia met again in the first round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Canada. This time, Tunisia emerged victorious in both legs. They secured a 4-0 win in Morocco during the first leg on October 26, 2013, and followed it up with a 4-1 victory in Tunisia on November 8, 2013.

Morocco suffers the law of Nigeria (2017)

The national team actively participated in the qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup in France. Having been exempted from the preliminary round, Morocco, featuring talented players such as Fatima Tagnaout and Sanaâ Mssoudy, faced Senegal in the first round. Despite a 2-1 loss in the second leg held in Dakar on September 30, 2017, the Moroccans capitalized on their 2-0 victory in the first leg in Salé on September 16, 2017, thanks to goals from Rania Salmi and Sanaâ Mssoudy. In the second round, Morocco encountered Nigeria. The first leg took place in Salé on November 5, 2022, resulting in a draw. Nouhaila Sedki scored the Moroccan goal during the match.

Encouraging results (2019)

During the summer of 2019, Morocco was chosen to host the 2019 African Games. Under the guidance of Lamia Boumehdi, the national team achieved success in the group stage by winning all three matches. On August 17, 2019, they secured a 3-2 victory against Algeria, followed by a 2-0 win against Equatorial Guinea and a 4-1 triumph against Mali. In the semi-finals, Morocco faced Cameroon and suffered a 3-1 defeat, which ended their pursuit of the gold medal. However, in the third-place match against Algeria in Sala on August 28, 2019, the team rallied and emerged victorious, earning the bronze medal. Fatima Ezzahra Akif and her teammates showcased their skills and determination throughout the tournament. Later in October 2019, Morocco participated in the UNAF U-20 Women's Tournament held in Tangier. Zineb Redouani and her teammates performed exceptionally well, winning all three matches. They secured a 2-1 victory against Burkina Faso, a 3-1 win against Algeria, and a 2-0 triumph against Tunisia, ultimately clinching the tournament trophy.

Morocco and the covid-19 pandemic

Under the leadership of Lamia Boumehdi, the Moroccan team actively participated in the qualifying matches for the 2020 World Cup in Costa Rica. They began their campaign with a double confrontation against Egypt. In an impressive display of skill and determination, Morocco emerged victorious in both legs, securing a 5-3 win in Cairo on January 17, 2020, and a 3-1 victory in Salé on February 2, 2020. The team was set to face their Algerian counterparts in the next round. However, due to the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, FIFA made the decision to cancel the competition. Consequently, the World Cup was postponed for a year, and the teams had to wait for the rescheduled qualifiers to continue their journey.

Defeat on the edge of the Atlas Lioncelles (2022)

After being exempted from the first round, Morocco commenced their preparations for the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup by facing Benin. Although the second leg in Rabat on October 9, 2021, ended in a draw, Morocco secured their qualification with a 2-1 victory in Porto-Novo on September 25, 2021, courtesy of goals from Sofia Bouftini and Nassima Jawad. The first leg of the match had to be played over two days due to heavy rain, with the game being interrupted in the 42nd minute and resumed the following day. In the third round, Morocco faced Gambia. Since Gambia couldn't host, both legs were played at the Stade Moulay Hassan in Rabat. Morocco emerged victorious in both matches, defeating Gambia 3-1 on December 6, 2021, and 6-0 on December 12, 2021, with Sofia Bouftini scoring a hat-trick. Marwa Hassani and her teammates then faced Senegal in the decisive round. Both legs ended in draws, with a 1-1 scoreline in the first leg in Rabat on January 22, 2022, with Sofia Bouftini finding the back of the net, and the same result in the second leg on February 5, 2022, in Thiès, with Morocco's goal being scored by captain Nesryne El Chad. The penalty shootout favored Senegal, who won 5-4, thus ending Morocco's journey in the qualifiers.

Preparations for new deadlines (2022-)

After failing to qualify for the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the Moroccan national team regrouped in November 2022 for a training camp held at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé from November 9 to 15. In February 2023, the team traveled to Conakry to face Guinea in a double friendly match at the Stade du 28 Septembre. In the first leg on February 16, 2023, Morocco emerged victorious with a 3-0 scoreline, thanks to goals from Doha El Madani (double) and Yasmine Zouhir. However, the second match on February 19, 2023, ended in a 3-2 victory for Guinea, with Moroccan goals scored by Dania Boussatta and Yasmine Zouhir once again. From March 13 to 18, 2023, Morocco participated in the second edition of the 2023 UNAF U-20 Women's Tournament held in Tunisia. The team faced Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt. Morocco drew 1-1 against Algeria and secured a last-minute 1-0 victory against Egypt, with a goal from Nora Nouhaili. By finishing first with 7 points on overall goal difference ahead of Algeria, Morocco won the tournament. To prepare for the qualifications for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the team played two friendly matches in Thiès on May 17 and 20, 2023. Both matches ended in defeat for Morocco, with scores of 2-0 and 2-1 respectively. The only Moroccan goal in the second match was scored by Fatima El Ghazouani.

Competitive record

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

  • Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

African Games

African Games record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA
Nigeria 2003did not enter
Algeria 2007
Mozambique 2011
Republic of the Congo 2015
Morocco 2019 Bronze Medal5401127
Republic of the Congo 2023to be determined
Total1/55401127

UNAF U-20 Women's Tournament record

UNAF U-20 Women's Tournament
Appearances: 1
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Morocco 2019 Champion1st330074
Tunisia 2023 Champion1st321051
Total6510125

Fixtures and results

Legend   Win   Draw   Lose   Fixture

2023

17 May 2023 (2023-05-17) Friendly Senegal  2–0  Morocco Thiès, Senegal
16:00 (UTC) Stadium: Stade Lat-Dior
20 May 2023 (2023-05-20) Friendly Senegal  3–1  Morocco Thiès, Senegal
10:00 (UTC) Stadium: Stade Lat-Dior
8 October 2023 (2023-10-08) 2024 African U-20 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament Morocco  4–0  Burkina Faso El Jadida, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1
  • Zouhir 5'
  • Boussate 49'
  • El Hamzaoui 61'
  • Boussatta 78'
 Report (FRMF) Stadium: Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium
Referee: Asma Chouchane (Tunisia)
12 November 2023 (2023-11-12) 2024 African U-20 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament Morocco  3–0  Guinea El Jadida, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1
  • El Madani 23', 40', 84'
 Stadium: Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium
18 November 2023 (2023-11-18) 2024 African U-20 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament Guinea  0–2  Morocco El Jadida, Morocco
16:00 UTC+1
  • Sadiki 17'
  • El Masnoui 40'
 Stadium: Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium

2024

Players

Current squad

The following players were named for the xxxx on xxxx.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Morocco pip Algeria to historic bronze". CAF Online. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  2. ↑ Etchells, Daniel (29 August 2019). "Nigeria beat Cameroon on penalties in women's football final at African Games". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
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