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The Moroccan team is preparing to face France
The 2026 World Cup has improved the atmosphere in the Moroccan national team, particularly between its two stars, Ashraf Hakimi and Ibrahim Diaz, after the tension that brought them together after the conclusion of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Diaz missed a Panenka-style penalty in stoppage time in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final, so Senegal came back to score the winner in extra time and then wrest the title from the Lions of Teranga.
He said French newspaper L’Equipe This incident greatly strained Hakimi’s relationship with Ibrahim Diaz, as the Paris Saint-Germain full-back did not accept taking the shot that way at the time.
This tension remained between the players until the next camp, last March, although Ibrahim Diaz tried to apologize to the group for what he had done, but Hakimi did not accept it.
It was on this file that Mohamed Wehbi worked after taking over as coach of the Moroccan national team, replacing Walid Regraghi, where he managed to calm the relationship between the players with the help of some stars of the Atlas Lions.
The newspaper notes that the two players have not become close friends now, but they are working side by side to lead the Moroccan national team to a historic achievement in the World Cup.
Today, Thursday, the Moroccan national team will meet its French counterpart at the Gillette Stadium in Boston, USA, during the opening of the World Cup quarter-finals.
The Atlas Lions are looking to repeat the greatest Arab and African feat in World Cup history by qualifying for the semi-finals, as they did in their last match at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
