Morocco has accepted the resignation of head coach Walid Regragui (pictured above) and will appoint Mohamed Wahbi as the new head coach.
According to previous reports, Regragui submitted his resignation to the Moroccan Football Federation just days after losing to Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final. Immediately afterwards, in line with its usual practice, the Moroccan Football Federation issued a denial statement, refuting rumours of Regragui’s resignation — a move that almost exactly copied its approach with previous managers. The same tactic, the same instinctive reaction: deny first to buy time, then make the final decision.
Regragui had been mentally drained by an extraordinary three years of high-intensity management (a 2022 World Cup semi-final, a disappointing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, and a rollercoaster 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final), and had truly decided to end his tenure. Although Díaz’s missed Panenka penalty in stoppage time could have changed the course of history, the 50-year-old coach leaves with the best managerial record in the history of the Moroccan national team and the belief that he gave his all. The Moroccan Football Federation took the necessary time to accept his resignation, as it actively searched for a successor before publicly confirming his departure. Now, it has found his replacement.
According to journalists, Mohamed Wahbi will take over from Regragui as head coach of the Moroccan national team, holding the position at least until the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The federation’s choice may come as a surprise given the recent résumé of the Belgian-Moroccan dual-national coach.
Wahbi’s career has been that of a pure youth coach, spending 17 years at Anderlecht’s youth academy and overseeing the development of entire generations of players. He was then brought in by the Moroccan Football Federation in March 2022 to manage the U20 national team, and he completely transformed the side. He led them to the final of the U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt (losing 1-0 to South Africa), before making history at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile in October 2025, beating Argentina 2-0 in the final to win Morocco’s first ever world title in football across all age groups. Shortly afterwards, he was appointed to manage the Olympic national team in preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
His task will therefore be to stabilise the team successfully at least until the 2026 World Cup. He can rely on one major strength: excellent communication skills. In a football environment like Morocco, where managing relations between dual-national and home-grown players is often sensitive, he navigated these dynamics seamlessly at U20 level. Although the Moroccan Football Federation also held talks with Xavi and other foreign coaches, and many had expected Tarik Sektioui — who led the home-based squad to win the African Nations Championship, the Arab Cup and an Olympic bronze medal — to take over, Morocco ultimately chose Wahbi, who has a youth coaching background. With no first-team managerial experience at professional clubs, he will need to prove himself, beginning with two friendly matches against Ecuador and Paraguay respectively.
