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“Marca” newspaper praised the coach of the Moroccan national team, Mohamed Wehbe, hours before the match against France in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup.
In its report, the newspaper revealed the career of Mohamed Wehbe and his remarkable transformation from a physical education teacher to a coach whose excellence the world attests to.
Mohamed Wehbi did not follow the traditional professional path that would have qualified him to coach the national team at the World Cup. He wasn’t a footballer, and he didn’t build his career on winning titles at the highest levels. He spent half his life as a physical education teacher, teaching six to twelve year olds in a school in Brussels.
After the lessons, he would move from the classroom to the stadium to continue the same work.
So began the story of Wehbe, the man who would lead Morocco against France to qualify for the World Cup semi-finals.
Born 49 years ago in Brussels to a Moroccan family, he discovered his passion for football as a child, watching the 1986 World Cup where the Atlas Lions reached the round of 16 for the first time. That team instilled in him a sense of belonging that never faded, even though his entire personal and professional career was in Belgium.
From the classroom to the World Cup bench
He started his coaching career in Brussels “Maccabi” when he was only twenty-one years old. It was the beginning of a quiet career, but it changed radically in 2003 when he received an offer from Anderlecht.
He joined the club to coach Nerbidi’s under-9 team and spent 17 years there. He rose through the ranks until he became one of the academy’s most respected coaches and even served as an assistant first team coach on several occasions.
Over the past two decades, some of the greatest talents in Belgian football have passed through his hands;
Young Remko Evenpol also trained under his leadership, who became one of the best cyclists in the world before leaving football. “Remko was with us at Anderlecht until the under-19 team.”
He continued. “When I was in Anderlecht’s youth academy, we realized that players who have a high school diploma reach the first team. Today the game is very organized. Players need discipline and education helps them a lot in this regard.”
The call that changed Wehbe’s life
After a short spell in Saudi Arabia with Yannick Ferreira at Al-Fateh Club, he received a call that changed his career. In 2022, the president of the Moroccan Football Federation, Fouzi Laquia, decided to assign him to train the national team under the age of 20.
He had followed his work closely in Belgium and was convinced that he was the perfect person to complete a project that the Union had been working on for years.
In just three years, he built a young and competitive team with a distinct identity that won the Under-20 World Cup after defeating Argentina in the final.
After the departure of Walid Regraghi, a new opportunity was created for Wahbi. This step was surprising. He was a coach almost unknown to the public, he had no experience leading a senior team, he was appointed a few months before the start of the World Cup, but the Moroccan federation did not hesitate, and the results proved the correctness of his decision.
With an average age of no more than 26.4 years, the Moroccan national team is the third youngest team in the tournament and one of the best performing teams.
“Young players are often criticized for not listening to the advice of senior players and preferring their own style. But the situation in this team is completely different. They listen very carefully to the coaching staff and veteran players. There is a lot of mutual respect between them.” This change in mindset best sums up Mohamed Wehbe’s personality. And now their next destination is France.
