Mohamed Ouahbi took over as Morocco head coach in March. By Thursday, he'll be standing in a World Cup quarter-final against France in Boston. African football has a long, painful history of last-minute coaching changes going badly wrong. Morocco just keep doing it differently.
This isn't a fluke. Four years ago in Qatar, Morocco sacked their coach three months before the tournament and reached the semi-final — the first African nation ever to do so. They've followed the same script in 2026, replacing the record-breaking Walid Regragui after the Africa Cup of Nations, and Ouahbi has barely missed a step.
What Ouahbi actually changed
Ouahbi didn't inherit the team and maintain it. He reshaped it. Out went the traditional centre forward. In came Ismael Saibari as a false nine, with Azzedine Ounahi pushed higher up the pitch — a tactical shift that paid off immediately when Ounahi scored twice against Canada on Saturday to send Morocco through as the first side into the quarter-finals.
The personnel decisions off the pitch were just as sharp. With centre back Nayef Aguerd injured, Ouahbi moved to persuade Issa Diop to commit to Morocco and — perhaps most significantly — convinced teenage prodigy Ayyoub Bouaddi to switch his international allegiance from France. That last one will sting the opposition on Thursday in particular.
Compare that to the African sides who tried this before and cratered. South Africa ditched Carlos Queiroz before the 2002 World Cup and went home early. Nigeria changed their coach ahead of both 2002 and 2010 and picked up a single point across six group games. Ivory Coast brought in Sven-Goran Eriksson with two months to go in 2010 — Drogba, Yaya Touré and all — and didn't make it past the first round.
The Regragui factor
Context matters here. Regragui left under a cloud despite setting a world record of 19 consecutive international wins. He was jeered by Morocco fans, never fully embraced despite his results. His exit was predicted. What wasn't predicted was that his successor would make it look this seamless this fast.
Morocco's odds to go deep in this tournament looked shaky the moment Regragui walked. Right now, with Ouahbi having already outfoxed expectations, those assessments need revising. A coach who convinced a French-eligible teenager to play for Morocco instead — and then deployed him against France in the last eight — isn't operating by accident.
