The Moroccan national football team claimed a decisive 2-0 victory over Tanzania in its opening match of 2026 World Cup qualifying at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday
A goal in either half of the game propelled the Atlas Lions over the Taifa Stars in a game Morocco dominated from start to finish.
Atlas Lion Hakim Ziyech scored his team’s opening goal in the 28th minute of the match before Taifa Stars’ Lusajo Elukaga Mwaikenda unintentionally contributed to Morocco’s victory by scoring an own goal in the 53rd minute.
The away side hardly allowed Tanzania a sniff at goal, restricting them to half chances on the counter attack.
The African qualifiers placed Morocco in Group E alongside Zambia, Congo, Tanzania, Niger, and Eritrea.
Following today’s game, Morocco will face Zambia between June 3 and 11, 2024. The squad will then lock horns with Congo during the same period.
In addition, the team will face Niger and Tanzania between March 17 and 25, 2025.
In the period between September 1 and 9, 2025, the Atlas Lions will take on Niger and Zambia before playing against Congo in October.
The 2026 World Cup will take place in Canada, the United States, and Mexico between June 11 and July 19.
This edition of the World Cup will see an expanded format, featuring a total of 48 teams instead of 32, with 12 groups of four teams each. It will include 104 matches instead of the typical 64 games.
In their quest for qualification, Morocco will be looking to build on their success in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, where they reached the semifinals for the first time.
